Research & reports

Felix Zoll, Caitlin K. Kirby, Kathrin Specht, Rosemarie Siebert · Agriculture and Human Values · Germany

A quantitative study (n=790) among Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) members in Germany used a multiple regression model to identify factors predicting trust in CSA and its farmers. The analysis found that "reputation," "supply of information," "direct social interaction," and "duration of CSA membership" influenced trust. Conversely, "certification status of the CSA farm" and "attitudes toward organic certification" did not significantly predict trust.

April M. Roggio, Jason Evans · Sustainability · Global

Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) are locally-rooted agroecological governance mechanisms that have garnered interest globally. However, there is little evidence of their development in the United States, where community supported agriculture (CSA) and farmer's markets grew instead, though many of these mechanisms failed to sustain interest and support. This study explores factors driving PGS creation in other global regions and identifies factors shaping a different trajectory for local agriculture in the United States.

Janina Wittenberg, Maria Gernert, Hamid El Bilali, Carola Strassner · Sustainability · Germany (Münster)

This paper explores the role of grassroots initiatives in the transition towards a sustainable urban food system in Münster, Germany, using questionnaires, interviews, and desk research. Results indicate that many initiatives in Münster focus on education and information, raising awareness, rather than offering material alternatives. Policy, education, networks, and communication were identified as key leverage points.

Anna Kapała · Laws · France

This study aimed to identify legal instruments implemented in France that support short food supply chains and local food systems. The research identified these tools from various domains and levels, including national laws, government policies, and local government initiatives, analyzing them in relation to forms of short supply chains like direct marketing, producer stores, basket systems, urban agriculture, and public catering deliveries. The French instruments were found to be multiple, diverse, mostly innovative, and to consider social, environmental, and solidarity values.

S.B. Jilcott Pitts, R.A. Seguin, J. Kolodinsky, E.H. Morgan, M.J. White, M. Sitaker, J.T. McGuirt, W. Wang, K.L. Hanson, A.S. Ammerman · UNC Libraries · United States

This study examined perspectives on food access among 53 low-income families with children participating in a cost-offset community-supported agriculture (CO-CSA) program across nine communities in the US states of New York, North Carolina, Washington, and Vermont. Focus groups revealed that while produce quantity was abundant and affordability was generally good, payment timing was a barrier for some, and unfamiliar foods and quick spoilage hindered acceptability. The study concluded that CO-CSA may facilitate increased access to fruits and vegetables, but perceptions of positive diet change may be limited by challenges in incorporating share pick-up into regular travel patterns and meal planning, with food waste concerns being particularly acute for families with constrained resources.

Diffa Nida Haniyah, Endah Djuwendah, M. Gunardi Judawinata, Agriani Hermita Sadeli · MIMBAR AGRIBISNIS Jurnal Pemikiran Masyarakat Ilmiah Berwawasan Agribisnis · Indonesia (Bandung)

This qualitative case study in Bandung, Indonesia, examines Seni Tani, an organic farming business applying the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) concept. Seni Tani practices regenerative organic agriculture, producing organic products without synthetic chemical inputs and operating as a socially responsible urban farming enterprise. Its CSA program, CSATani Sauyunan, fulfills the principles of partnership, locality, solidarity, and producer-consumer relations, categorized as a small-scale, informal Multi-Farm, Subscription, and Mixed-Vegetable CSA.

Olga Orlić, Anita Čeh Časni, Kosjenka Dumančić · Ubiquity Press eBooks · Croatia

This chapter provides an overview of the development of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Croatia, within the broader context of food citizenship and solidarity economy concepts. CSA has gained attention over the past 20-30 years due to increasing awareness of the need to change food politics regarding food security and sovereignty. In Croatia, initiators and actors of CSA groups have been pioneers in achieving food citizenship.

Beatriz Pineda Revilla, Sarah Essbai · · Europe

A chapter examines how community-led initiatives contribute to institutionalizing alternative food practices against a backdrop of urban-rural divide reinforcing growth-oriented food production and consumption. It analyzes two Amsterdam community-led food initiatives—a food co-op and a Community Supported Agriculture farm—in terms of their social, organizational, infrastructural, and institutional capacities, identifying two major organizational and institutional challenges, while arguing that the initiatives are increasing awareness of rural-urban interdependencies and laying groundwork for a shift toward a post-growth food system.

F. Becot, K.L. Hanson, R.A. Seguin, A.S. Ammerman, J. Kolodinsky, J.T. McGuirt, S.B. Jilcott Pitts, M. Demarco · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · United States

A modified exploratory choice experiment, embedded within in-depth interviews, examined willingness to participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program under varying price, frequency, food quantity, and accessibility conditions among 42 low-income adults with at least one child in the household in North Carolina, New York, Vermont, and Washington. Comparing summed willingness across conditions, the analysis suggests the ideal CSA would be a full-sized share of eight to nine mixed items, distributed every other week, priced under US$15, no more than 10 minutes farther than the supermarket from home, and preferably cheaper than but no more than 20% pricier than supermarket prices.

J. Dominique Gumirakiza, Autumn Milliner · Journal of Agricultural Science · United States

Using data from 172 consumers responding to a 2020 mail survey in the Southcentral Kentucky region, USA, a study applied Multinomial and Ordered Logit models to analyze farmers market attendance and likelihood of participating in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Relative probabilities for 'never attend,' 'attend occasionally,' and 'attend frequently' were 55%, 29%, and 16% respectively, with male consumers, rural residents, primary shoppers, and those with a 2-year associate degree less likely to attend farmers markets, while more educated consumers and those satisfied with prior market experiences attended more frequently. Consumers interested in using an app to purchase fresh produce were more likely to attend farmers markets and join CSA programs, while rural residents were less likely to join a CSA program.

K.L. Hanson, W. Wang, J. McGuirt, A. Ammerman, M.M. Severs, E.H. Morgan, S.B.J. Pitts, R.A. Seguin, F. Becot, M. Sitaker, J. Kolodinsky · UNC Libraries · United States

Semi-structured interviews with 20 CSA (community-supported agriculture) members and 24 CSA farmers across four US states, plus a modified choice experiment completed by members, examined the product, place, price and promotion (4P) factors behind member satisfaction and farm competitiveness in 2022. Both members and farmers were driven by personal, social, environmental and economic motivations. Members favored high-quality staple vegetables such as lettuce and green beans, ideally organically grown, and valued trust and personal connection with the farmer as an added benefit of CSA participation. Pick-up time and location mattered greatly, prompting farmers to offer convenient sites or enriched pick-up experiences. Small price changes appeared unlikely to affect participation among current members. Social networks and word-of-mouth were effective for marketing but may limit farms' ability to reach more diverse populations.

Benjamin Hennchen, Martina Schäfer · Frontiers in Sustainability · Global

A comparative study of three food system innovations — citizen shareholder companies, community-supported agriculture, and food co-ops — examining their inclusiveness, degree of member involvement, and quality of experienced connectedness. It draws on quantitative and qualitative data from an online survey, two focus group discussions, and a broad literature search. All three food innovations were found to show a rather low level of inclusiveness, although efforts are being made to overcome barriers to access. The innovations were found to generate social cohesion between different actors along the value-added chain, constituted differently in a more service-oriented versus a community-oriented model. The study concludes these innovations provide momentum toward the dominant food regime by rewarding producers for sustainable practices, establishing stronger producer-consumer relationships, and motivating consumers to assume shared responsibility, and considers the three innovations complementary for food system transitions.

Simone Schiller-Merkens · Organization · Global

A theoretical paper (2022, no specific region) examines forms of alternative economic organizing — cooperatives, post-growth organizations, common-good organizations, community-supported agriculture, transition towns, and ecovillages — that are described in organization and social-movement studies as "prefigurative," creating imaginaries of an alternative future while demonstrating viability through everyday practice. It argues that existing scholarship often leaves the meaning of prefiguration and its relationship to alternative organizing and anarchism unclear, and develops a definition of prefigurative organizing that distinguishes it from alternative organizing while foregrounding its political nature — its ties to multiple struggles, tensions, and conflicts. The paper then presents a systematic overview of types of struggles around prefigurative organizing with reference to exemplary research, and argues that studying prefigurative organizing requires an alternative praxis within academia itself.

Annie-Pier Mercier, Gabrielle Rochefort, Julie Fortier, Geneviève J. Parent, Véronique Provencher, Simone Lemieux, Benoı̂t Lamarche · Current Developments in Nutrition · Canada

A short questionnaire measuring local food procurement behavior, the Locavore-Index Short Form (Locavore-I-SF), was developed and validated among 299 French-speaking adults (85% women) in the Quebec City metropolitan area, Canada. The 12-item, 12-point instrument covering short food supply chain use and geographic origin of carrot, tomato and lettuce showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.74), correlated strongly with the original Locavore-Index (r=0.84, P<0.0001) and with photo-verified food origin (r=0.50, P<0.0001), and was higher among gardeners than non-gardeners (mean difference 2.3±0.4 points, P<0.0001); its association with the Healthy Eating Food Index-2019 score was weak (B=0.05±0.02, P=0.02).

W. Wang, J.A. Garner, G.A. Marshall, M. Sitaker, E.H. Belarmino, A.S. Ammerman, S.B. Jilcott Pitts, R.A. Seguin-Fowler, J. Kolodinsky, K.L. Hanson · UNC Libraries · United States

The Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids (F3HK) randomized controlled trial, conducted in New York, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington from 2016 to 2018, assigned 305 caregiver-child dyads to a cost-offset (half-price) community supported agriculture (CSA) share plus tailored nutrition education, or to a delayed-intervention control group. After one growing season, no significant net effects were observed on children's dietary intake, BMI, or physical activity. Caregivers, however, showed statistically significant net improvements in cooking attitudes, skills, and self-efficacy, fruit and vegetable intake and skin carotenoid levels, and household food security. Improvements in attitudes and self-efficacy persisted at one-year follow-up, but improvements in caregiver diet and household food security did not. The number of weeks a household picked up its CSA share — not the number of education sessions attended — was associated with improvements in caregiver fruit and vegetable intake and household food security. The study concludes that cost-offset CSA plus nutrition education improved caregiver and household outcomes within one season but had no effect on children, and some improvements were not maintained after the CSA season ended.

Marco Medici, Maurizio Canavari, Alessandra Castellini · Journal of Cleaner Production · Italy

This study investigated the status and evolution of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Italy, examining its social, environmental, and economic benefits. Using CSA data, participant observation, thematic network analysis, and interviews with CSA representatives, it found that Italian CSA generally meets sustainability goals, though with varying levels of member involvement, economic viability, and environmental impact across communities. The lack of policy support is hindering further CSA diffusion and consolidation.

Martha Biddle, JungHee Kang, Julie C. Derringer, Anna M. Rose, D. Brewer, Misook L. Chung, Terry A. Lennie, Gia Mudd‐Martin, Timothy A. Woods · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · United States (Kentucky)

A study examined the relationships among food security status, eating patterns, and perceived barriers to food choices among 209 shareholders in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in Kentucky during COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions. The food insecure group (n=33) reported lower consumption of fruits/vegetables and whole grains, greater consumption of fast foods, and more barriers to food choices compared to the food secure group. A low food insecure proportion (16%) among CSA participants suggests a potential role for CSA programs in preventing food insecurity.

Chika Kondo · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Japan

This paper analyzes Japan's teikei movement (Japanese CSA) and how it exemplifies diverse economies. Through case studies of two teikei groups in the Kansai region, it assesses how changes made by current generations allow teikei to adapt to long-standing challenges, such as the decline of volunteer labor. Despite current members' detachment from strong activist identities, they sustain their organizations through part-time work, community building, and institutionalizing volunteer labor.

Rosângela Oliveira Soares, Paulino Varela Tavares, Fátima Regina Zan, Artur Cristóvão, Manuel Luís Tibério · Desenvolvimento em Questão · Global

This study proposed a bibliometric analysis using pattern recognition based on peer-reviewed journal publications focusing on Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA). Using a Web of Science dataset, publications from 1997 to 2019 were analyzed with semantic citation/co-citation metrics. The analysis identified three major themes—motivations, process, and context—in CSA research, indicating a growing trend in studies related to proximity networks, cooperation, alternative systems, and sustainable development.

Ilona Liliána Birtalan, Ágnes Neulinger, György Bárdos, Adrien Rigó, József Rácz, Szilvia Boros · British Food Journal · Global

This study qualitatively examined the influence of local food communities, specifically Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) participation, on health-related adaptivity and self-management practices. Based on semi-structured interviews with 35 participants, the findings suggest that local food communities can influence health in themes such as awareness of product origins, enhanced food-management capability, expanding applicability and usability of the food environment, and strengthening one's food-related self-image.

Daren Shi-chi Leung · China Perspectives · China (Guangzhou)

The Chinese community-supported agriculture (CSA) movement advocates for peasant farming and food sovereignty, promoting "ethical" food often through intermediary certification. However, controversy exists among CSA activists who question the effectiveness of certification in improving consumer-producer relationships. This paper presents an alternative approach focusing on strengthening participatory culture within the consumer-producer nexus, based on an empirical study of Chengxianghui (CXH) in Guangzhou and outlining a "convivial agriculture" framework.

Liliane Úbeda Morandi Rotoli, Andréa Rossi Scalco, Giuliana Aparecida Santini Pigatto · DRd - Desenvolvimento Regional em debate · Brazil (São Paulo)

This paper analyzed the governance structure of Community Supported Agriculture in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, from the perspective of Transaction Cost Economics. The investigation followed a qualitative-quantitative survey research method, showing limited rationality in consumer perceptions and a high level of locational, temporal, physical, brand, and technological specificity in transactions. The assessed scenario concluded that the specified governance structure is a hybrid with bilateral dependence between autonomous actors, which, although adequate, requires improvements in reducing uncertainty among agents.

Eranjana Kathriarachchi, Dinuka Wijetunga · Sri Lanka Journal of Management Studies · Global

Consumer citizenship has gained attention, with consumers exhibiting citizenship behaviors in non-consumption arenas, beyond choice, purchase, and use. Such behaviors are evident in consumer involvement in organized movements related to organic farming and consumption, like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). Guided by Self-Determination Theory and current literature, this paper presents three propositions on how consumers may be motivated to engage in citizenship behaviors outside the domain of consumption, such as volunteering as evaluators in PGS.

Grace H. Bachman, Sara N. Lupolt, Mariya Strauss, Ryan David Kennedy, Keeve E. Nachman · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Maryland)

This study investigated the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Maryland fruit and vegetable farmers and their adaptations of direct-to-consumer marketing channels. Interviews with 20 farm owners/managers revealed that Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), farmers' markets, and pick-your-own channels provided high stability and financial security. Distribution channels incorporating online marketplaces with prepacked pre-orders were a notable strength for highly adaptive farmers. Common challenges included increased administrative workload, concerns about raising food prices during a crisis, and environmental concerns regarding additional packaging.

Tainá Souza Santos · · Brazil (São Carlos)

This paper investigates knowledge practices within the Community Supporting Agriculture of São Carlos, Brazil, through the words of farmer Dina. The research, conducted from August 2019 to October 2020, relates ethnographic material to contemporary anthropological discussions on ecology and knowledge. It also compares Dina's agroecological production techniques with the production of ethnographic writing.