_About CSA's and why they are awesome
In its simplest form, the CSA is a program that farmers use where instead of just selling the products of their labour, they sell a share in the harvest from their farm. It results in a direct relationship between folk looking for local food and farmers growing that food.
Its hard to pin point when it happened, but at one point that relationship between people who buy food and people who grow food became all but non-existent. Suddenly there were producers and there were consumers...and that's all there was to it. Yet, you are so much more than a "consumer". You are a committed individual that cares about what kind of impact your food choices have on yourself and the world about you. You strive to know and support the farmers in your area and make a daily choice to buy local food that affects the world in a positive way. We are also so much more than a "producer". We do more than produce food at whatever cost to fill shelves at a store. We grow wholesome food with the "long term" in mind. That's why we love CSA's so much, because what this all boils down to is nurturing that relationship you and us. You can ask us whatever you like about our farm. You can visit our farm and see exactly where your food comes from. We can hand the food directly to you, while having a conversation about your new job or your children.
Another very important part of the CSA model is that we as farmers treat our customers as actual shareholders in the farm. Our harvests can fluctuate depending on what the weather is like for the year, what our inputs cost us and how hard or easy it is for us to find the labour we need to get the work done. That's why CSA's are designed the way they are. We as farmers do our very best to plan for the year ahead to ensure that we can deliver a quality product at a good price.
In a bad year, we might get an early frost that damages our wheat or veggies before they're mature, or it might be such a wet, cold year that the birds have more trouble growing to the size we want them. In those years, the flour might be a little harder to work with, less will come in from the field, and the birds might end up going to the butcher a little smaller than expected. On the other hand, it might be a great, sunny year with just the right amount of rain and a late fall. That year, our customers would get a larger amount of top quality grains and nice juicy tomatoes for dinner.
This way, you share in the risk and the bounty with us. You get a little bit less for your money in the bad years, and more for your money in the good years. We always hope for good years, and the longer we do this, the better we get at providing that bounty.
"Food choices are environmental choices" -Janet Wallace, letter to the editor in Canadian Organic Grower Magazine, Fall 2011
In its simplest form, the CSA is a program that farmers use where instead of just selling the products of their labour, they sell a share in the harvest from their farm. It results in a direct relationship between folk looking for local food and farmers growing that food.
Its hard to pin point when it happened, but at one point that relationship between people who buy food and people who grow food became all but non-existent. Suddenly there were producers and there were consumers...and that's all there was to it. Yet, you are so much more than a "consumer". You are a committed individual that cares about what kind of impact your food choices have on yourself and the world about you. You strive to know and support the farmers in your area and make a daily choice to buy local food that affects the world in a positive way. We are also so much more than a "producer". We do more than produce food at whatever cost to fill shelves at a store. We grow wholesome food with the "long term" in mind. That's why we love CSA's so much, because what this all boils down to is nurturing that relationship you and us. You can ask us whatever you like about our farm. You can visit our farm and see exactly where your food comes from. We can hand the food directly to you, while having a conversation about your new job or your children.
Another very important part of the CSA model is that we as farmers treat our customers as actual shareholders in the farm. Our harvests can fluctuate depending on what the weather is like for the year, what our inputs cost us and how hard or easy it is for us to find the labour we need to get the work done. That's why CSA's are designed the way they are. We as farmers do our very best to plan for the year ahead to ensure that we can deliver a quality product at a good price.
In a bad year, we might get an early frost that damages our wheat or veggies before they're mature, or it might be such a wet, cold year that the birds have more trouble growing to the size we want them. In those years, the flour might be a little harder to work with, less will come in from the field, and the birds might end up going to the butcher a little smaller than expected. On the other hand, it might be a great, sunny year with just the right amount of rain and a late fall. That year, our customers would get a larger amount of top quality grains and nice juicy tomatoes for dinner.
This way, you share in the risk and the bounty with us. You get a little bit less for your money in the bad years, and more for your money in the good years. We always hope for good years, and the longer we do this, the better we get at providing that bounty.
"Food choices are environmental choices" -Janet Wallace, letter to the editor in Canadian Organic Grower Magazine, Fall 2011
