Research & reports

Neil Ravenscroft, Niamh Moore, Ed Welch, Andrew Church · University of Brighton Repository (University of Brighton) · United Kingdom

This paper explores the theoretical foundations of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the UK, a cooperative venture where communities share farming risks and harvests. It suggests that CSA's theoretical underpinnings are gift-based, fostering deep connections among people, farmers, and the environment. The paper argues that CSA's significance lies in its rejection of market-based food communities and its demonstration of durable community forms for making multiple connections.

Katherine Johns-Galvin · · United States

This research examined the cycle of poor nutrition in the Frog Hollow neighborhood, Hartford, Connecticut, an urban food desert characterized by limited access to affordable, healthy foods. It argues that the growth of farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture, and community gardens has reintroduced affordable, attainable healthy foods to the neighborhood. This introduction of locally grown produce at affordable prices has enabled the Frog Hollow neighborhood to begin addressing food insecurity.

Maleka P. Hashmi, Kitrina M. Carlson · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Global

A student-driven, community-engaged learning course on food systems and choices was developed to enhance student understanding of food security determinants. The course, guided by the socio-ecological model, included student-led modules and community research projects in metro Atlanta, focusing on local food distribution and access in low-income areas. It culminated in a symposium and research reports, with a grant from Emory's CFCP supporting community collaboration.

Anna Biebrauer · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota) · Global

This handbook provides a basic design primer for urban farmers, gardeners, and community groups interested in creating pocket farms, community gardens, or CSAs. It compiles urban agriculture components, precedents, and design considerations for arrangement, construction, perception, and use by farmers and their communities. The suggested ideas and plants are tailored for the Northern climate (hardy to USDA Zone 4).

Ryan E. Galt, Libby O'Sullivan, Jessica Beckett, Colleen C. Hiner · California Agriculture · United States (California)

This study investigated Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operations in California's Central Valley and surrounding foothills, United States. Surveys and in-depth interviews were conducted with 54 CSA farmers and two CSA organizers, focusing on CSA type, economic viability, farmer characteristics, and farm attributes. Findings revealed that 54% of CSAs reported profitability, farmers were generally younger, better educated, and more likely to be women, and farms were small, utilizing agroecological methods.

David M. Hunt, Stephanie Geiger‐Oneto, Philip E. Varca · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · Global

This exploratory field study, drawing on community theory, examined whether engagement in co-production activities in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) leads to greater product satisfaction for consumers. Results indicated that two types of value co-creation—commitment to co-production and behavioral involvement in product-related activities—were positively correlated with product satisfaction. These findings support the notion that value co-creation provides value for consumers.

Zhu Qing-hai · Ecological Economy · Global

This paper describes a new cultural movement in agricultural food emerging in Western developed countries, driven by concerns over food safety, environmental pollution, global climate change, and inequality. This movement encompasses community-supported agriculture, food miles, and fair trade. These initiatives are presented as ensuring food safety, promoting regional economic development, safeguarding global fairness and justice, and influencing global environmental improvement.

Sima Patel, Rod MacRae · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Canada

A land parcel analysis in Toronto, Canada identified 77 parcels totaling 1,270 acres (514 hectares) of potential land for community supported agriculture (CSA) farming — about 1 percent of the city's surface area — with much of it located in northeast Toronto. Five commercially viable scenario types were constructed with varying land use, zoning, institutional and residential characteristics, but considerable challenges remain for widespread implementation, leading to policy and program recommendations including pilot projects, institutional linkages, program supports, training and extension.

Diane Rodet · Revue Française de Socio-Économie · Europe

This piece frames fair trade products, organic agriculture, and community-supported agriculture as singular goods that open a new field for studying consumers, exhibiting evaluation devices used for and by customers. The available abstract contains no further detail on methods or findings.

Kynda R. Curtis, Voravee Chakreeyarat, J. Dominique Gumirakiza · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States

A brief discussion piece frames growing interest in local food systems as a potential response to challenges in the globalized food system and as an avenue for promoting agricultural and rural sustainability. It does not present a specific research method or findings.

Kynda R. Curtis, Voravee Chakreeyarat, J. Dominique Gumirakiza · Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) · United States

Describes the origin of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs in the United States in the 1980s, in which consumers pay farmers in advance for a season's share of farm products and farmers commit to supplying a sufficient quantity, quality and variety of produce. The abstract provided contains only this background description of the CSA concept, with no reported survey data, sample or findings on consumer preferences.

Lucy Jarosz · Gender Place & Culture · United States

This article examines the motivations of women farmers involved in community supported agriculture (CSA) in a US metropolitan region, based on interviews. It argues that these women's motivations reflect an ethics of care, centering their work on nourishing themselves and others. Their choices are shaped by the urban context, race, and middle-class status, expressing self-care and a post-capitalist politics that challenges neoliberal subject formation.

Yan Shi, Cunwang Cheng, Peng Lei, Tiejun Wen, Caroline Merrifield · International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · China (Beijing)

This paper examined the relationship between the Chinese middle class and sustainable agriculture, from the perspective of establishing and operating Beijing's first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm, amidst growing middle-class interest in "green" and sustainable food. The study discussed the farm's environmental and institutional sustainability, and explored the potential for future success with CSA models in China based on evidence from this case.

Melea Press, Eric J. Arnould · Journal of Consumer Culture · United States

This study examines how Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs gained legitimacy as a market form in the United States, using a socio-historical lens. It argues that American pastoralist ideology, linking historical agrarian ideals with modern CSAs, helped integrate them into the mainstream. The research suggests that the Internet further aided this legitimation by fostering personal commercial communications and de-massification, reinforcing egalitarian principles and community perceptions central to pastoralist ideology while masking cultural contradictions.

Gianni Cicia, Francesca Colantuoni, Del Giudice Teresa, Stefano Pascucci · International journal on food system dynamics · Italy

This study analyzed the effects of urbanization on farm land use and organization in the protected area of the Campi Flegrei Regional Park, a peri-urban rural area in the Neapolitan metropolitan area. Researchers distinguished farms into three behavioral-social groups based on specific features to identify the best-suited type for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) implementation. A market scenario was predicted for each group without intervention.

Marina Castelo Branco, RS Liz, F. A. de Alcântara, HAG Martins, J.A Hanson · Horticultura Brasileira · Brazil

This study gathered information on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA/AAC) projects in the US and assessed the willingness of consumers and poor urban producers in a low-income Brazilian city to engage in such projects. US AAC farmers typically cultivated less than 2 hectares, offered various vegetables for at least four months, but faced challenges with production planning and long-term maintenance. Brazilian consumers showed willingness to participate, mainly for fresh, organically produced food, while poor urban producers were unwilling due to their inability to guarantee production.

Heidi M. Blanck, Olivia M. Thompson, Linda Nebeling, Amy L. Yaroch · PubMed · United States

This study analyzed data from 1,994 US adults from the National Cancer Institute's Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey to assess the use of farm-to-consumer venues for purchasing fruits and vegetables. It found that 27% of grocery shoppers reported at least weekly use of these venues during summer. Older adults and those in the Northeast were most likely to use them weekly, with no differences observed by sex, race/ethnicity, education, or income.

Jack Russell Weinstein, Jay Basquiat · UND Scholarly Commons (University of North Dakota) · United States

This abstract explores philosophical questions regarding food and sustainability. It raises inquiries about why certain foods are eaten, the meaning of 'natural,' and the moral rules for food manufacturing and agricultural priorities. The text also questions the cultural and spiritual roles of food and responsibilities in providing food. Jay Basquiat is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Bismarck State College who sustainably farms near Mandan, ND.

Greg Jackson, Amanda L. Raster, Will Shattuck · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Southern Wisconsin)

Since 2005, four insurance providers in southern Wisconsin have offered rebates to policyholders who subscribe to a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation, reducing costs by up to 40%. This program, managed by MACSAC, led to increased fruit and vegetable consumption among CSA members and reduced advertising time for growers. Both the number of MACSAC member farms and the total shares offered by these farms have substantially increased, indicating the program's success in reducing grower risk and expanding production.

Jason J. Czarnezki · Pace Digital Repository (Pace University) · United States

This article considers legal, theoretical, and practical steps towards a more sustainable food model. It argues that two changes are necessary to alter modern American food consumption: increased awareness and increased availability. The article reiterates the need to increase information available to consumers and the consequences of food choices, further arguing that structural changes in the food system are necessary to increase access to sustainable foods.

Jennifer Marie Vazquez · · United States

In 2010, the ISU Student Organic Farm (SOF) completed its fifth season at the ISU Horticulture Research Station and began selling Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares for the first time. This initiative aimed to address the challenges of voluntarily managing an acre of organic vegetables. The effort led to increased participant involvement, greater food production and distribution, and improvements in infrastructure and soil fertility, including the purchase and installation of drip irrigation and the planting of a winter cover crop.

Hiroaki Murase, Takashi Maéno, Kiyohiko Sakamoto · The International Journal of Environmental Cultural Economic and Social Sustainability Annual Review · Japan

This is a scholarly article by Hiroaki Murase, Takashi Maeno, and Kiyohiko Sakamoto, published in The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic, and Social Sustainability: Annual Review.

권용덕, 윤인국 · 정책포커스 · South Korea

A study investigated the status of eco-friendly agriculture in Gyeongnam, South Korea, from 2009 to 2010. Gyeongnam's eco-friendly production base was low at 6.2% of the national total (12,043ha), with a high proportion of low-pesticide produce (62.9%). Direct sales were prevalent, but wholesale distribution was very low at 3.0% of total transactions, and exports were concentrated in processed foods and heavily reliant on the Japanese market. The study identified issues such as weakened producer bargaining power, slow development of local food systems due to policy gaps, inadequate wholesale distribution, and an export structure that does not significantly benefit farmers, and proposed revitalization strategies.

Kathleen L. Cappellano · Nutrition Today · United States

This article outlines farmers markets, community-supported agriculture, school- and community-based gardening, and collaborative programs that provide access to fresh produce, in response to American consumers' growing interest in learning about how and where their food is produced. It highlights online resources that describe these programs and organizations, which inform people about the many benefits of local agriculture.

Lester Scott Lakey · BearWorks (Missouri State University) · United States (Missouri)

An ethnographic study of two farms in the Springfield Plateau region of the Missouri Ozarks was conducted to assess the effects of "local food" movements on farmers. The study found that local farms share qualities with traditional family farms. It also revealed significant variability in farmers' motivations and attitudes, ranging from farming as a means to earn family income to farming as a way to build networks connecting farmers and consumers within the community.