We receive many other CSA's newsletters including the one quoted below. Blackberry Meadows CSA, located just outside of Pittsburgh is one of our long standing partners. Jen and Greg have provided tomatoes, garlic scapes, and other certified organic items for our members. In return, they have distributed our blueberries to their members. While our membership is almost exactly the same as last year we thought the information below was a fascinating look at the current status of CSA's....
Across the region, numerous farmers have mentioned that CSA membership is down.
"We've noticed this too. We've got our hardcore members that know we are the real deal. But as CSAs and Meal Kit Memberships grow in popularity, the true meaning of a CSA is being diluted. Way back when (say the 70's), the idea of a Community Supported Agriculture came about in Japan as a way for urban folks to get fresh organic produce, commissioned by a farmer. In the 80s and 90s, CSA was a budding movement that seemed to really take off in '10. Here we are now, with organizations like Blue Apron, Farmingo, and (even locally) Penns Corner Farm Alliance and Isidore Foods, all selling some type of subscription program; some even source local produce and goods, while others amalgamate goods from who knows where.
A true CSA is designed to create a beneficial relationship between the farmer and the consumer.. You, the consumer, buy a share in the farm in the spring, when the majority of our costs occur. Then, you get paid back, throughout the whole growing season in produce from the farm. If there's a bumper crop, you get the surplus; if there's a loss, you help carry the weight of the risk
In those other "CSAs" your money is going to a middle man, who then chooses how he spends your money locally, hopefully. The money doesn't go to the farmer in early spring, when it's needed most. The money doesn't go to the farmer if they get blight on their tomatoes. The middleman only buys produce to fill his CSA requirements at the time he distributes the produce to the members. There is no shared risk with the farmer.
When you join our CSA, you're supporting a farm that has standards of what is "ok" to eat. We are certified organic because we know we're doing it right. Too many farmers that say they're "organic" but really aren't - they don't know the USDA rules. We buy non GMO verified feed because we know that we don't' want to eat GMOs and neither should our customers. We make sure our cows are grass fed (because that's what cows are supposed to eat) and that our pigs can forage and move as a herd (because that what pigs do). Our hens are free-range and can eat all the bugs they can find. We have a high standard for what food should be.... especially if we're going to eat it. We want you to know that right here, at our farm, you're getting the best quality, most nutritious food, raised truly humanely, with the highest standards for health and wellness in mind. We're not middlemen - and your membership is extremely valuable to us. It's what keeps this farm going!"
