Concept

Community-supported agriculture

Also known as: CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, Farm share

An economic model where eaters subscribe to a farm's harvest at the start of the season, paying a share of the operation's costs upfront in exchange for a regular share of what the farm produces. Originated in 1960s Japan (teikei, 'food with the farmer's face on it') and 1980s Europe and the U.S. The model dramatically reorganizes the economics of small-scale farming: the farm has working capital at the moment of greatest need (spring planting), eaters share the season's risks and abundance, and a direct relationship replaces commodity-market intermediation. Approximately 7,000+ CSAs operate in the U.S. alone; thousands more globally.

How a CSA works

A typical CSA:

Members purchase shares at the beginning of the season, typically late winter or early spring
The farm uses the upfront capital for spring planting, tools, seed, equipment — exactly when small farms need cash flow most
The farm produces the season’s harvest — vegetables, fruit, eggs, sometimes meat, flowers, dairy
Members receive a weekly share for the season — typically 16-24 weeks
Members share the season’s risks and abundance — bumper crops mean bigger shares; crop failures mean smaller ones; the relationship is partnership, not commodity contract

The dollar amount, share size, and pickup logistics vary by farm. Typical 2024 prices: $400-$800 for a 16-20 week half-share, $700-$1,400 for a full share.

Origin

CSAs emerged in 1960s Japan as teikei (提携, “food with the farmer’s face on it”). Japanese mothers concerned about pesticide use and food quality formed direct relationships with organic farmers, agreeing to purchase the entire seasonal harvest in exchange for clean food. The teikei movement spread through Japan in the 1960s-70s.

The model arrived in Europe in the late 1970s through biodynamic-farm networks (Switzerland, Germany). It came to the U.S. in 1986 through two near-simultaneous launches: the Indian Line Farm in [[barre-ma|Massachusetts]] (Robyn Van En) and Temple-Wilton Community Farm in New Hampshire (Trauger Groh and Anthony Graham). Both founders were biodynamic farmers; both adapted the European teikei-influenced model.

The model spread through the U.S. organic-farm community in the late 1980s and 1990s. By 2010 there were ~4,000 CSAs nationally; by 2024, ~7,000+.

Variations

Single-farm CSA — one farm, one membership, full risk-sharing relationship
Multi-farm cooperative CSA — multiple farms aggregating shares; broader product range, less direct farmer-eater relationship
Member-work CSA — members contribute labor in exchange for reduced share price; deepens relationship and reduces farm labor costs
Pay-what-you-can CSA — sliding-scale or solidarity-share models that increase access for lower-income members
CSA + [[farmers-market|farmers market]] — many CSAs continue selling at farmers markets; farms diversify sales channels
Add-ons — eggs, bread, meat, dairy, flowers added to vegetable shares
Online ordering / customizable shares — modern CSAs increasingly offer some choice in what members receive each week

Why this matters

CSAs reorganize the basic economics of small-scale farming. Conventional vegetable-farming economics are brutal: farmers face all weather and market risk, with prices set by commodity intermediaries far below true cost. CSAs internalize the risk-sharing into a community-of-eaters relationship, fund the farm at the moment of greatest cash need (spring), and create direct accountability.

For [[regenerative-agriculture|regenerative agriculture]] specifically, CSAs make small-scale ecological farming viable in markets that would otherwise reward only commodity-scale operations. Many of the foundational figures of the modern small-farm movement — [[eliot-coleman|Eliot Coleman]], Jean-Martin Fortier, the Singing Frogs Farm Kaisers — are CSA-based or CSA-adjacent.

Sources

Sharing the Harvest, Elizabeth Henderson and Robyn Van En (Chelsea Green, 1999)
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service CSA documentation
LocalHarvest CSA directory
Multiple CSA-association publications

Rooted in life.

Related concepts: [[farm]].

What links here, and how

Inbound connections from across the wiki, grouped by lens and by relationship. These appear automatically — every entity page declares what it links to, and that data populates here on the targets.

Practical

shares approach with

Agritourism both close the distance between farmer and eater; CSA does it via subscription, agritourism via visit
Farm Stand both shortcut the wholesale-retail chain; CSA does it via subscription, farm stand via storefront
Farm-to-Table two structural models for routing farm production directly to eaters — CSA via direct-to-eater shares, farm-to-table via restaurant-as-intermediary
Farmers Market many of the same farms appear in both — different revenue mechanics, same farmer-to-eater commitment
Food Access direct-market models can widen access (sliding-scale shares, market-match programs) or narrow it (premium pricing) — the design choice is the point
Jones Family Farm Market operates CSA with multiple pickup points including a Baltimore farmers-market node
Killam and Bassette Farmstead operates three distinct CSA programs alongside the farmstand
Meal-prep service both operate on a weekly subscription rhythm; CSA delivers raw ingredients from one farm, meal-prep delivers finished meals from one kitchen
Nezinscot Farm Store year-round CSA spanning meat, dairy, eggs, produce — one of the widest-scope CSA programs in the directory
Pete's Greens the Good Eats CSA is the operation's anchor direct-to-eater channel, with multiple regional pickup points
Salt Air Farm operates a CSA alongside the cut-flower and event-venue surfaces
Spring Ledge Farm the flower-share CSA model brings the subscription pattern to ornamentals — a slow-flowers movement parallel to the vegetable CSA
U-pick both are zero-intermediary farm-to-eater models; CSA pre-commits a season, u-pick is a same-day harvest visit
Vegetable Farm the CSA model originated on diversified vegetable farms; the weekly bag is built on the weekly harvest of a vegetable operation

instance of

Alstede Farms runs a multi-season CSA with home-delivery option
Balsam Farms CSA program creating direct relationships with Hamptons-area members
Circle Brook Farm ~700 members across 12 CSA groups; deliveries across northern and central NJ
Frisky Girl Farm customizable CSA program — members choose box contents
Germantown Kitchen Garden began as a 5-person CSA in 2009; the CSA model is foundational to how the operation took root
Gorman Farm CSA member-choice CSA serving 600+ Maryland families; members select produce weekly rather than receiving fixed boxes
Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard CSA program with direct farmer-eater relationship
Jericho Settlers Farm year-round CSA with five Chittenden County pickup locations
Living Hope Farm 260+ member CSA with 24-week summer season + Winter CSA (Nov–Feb)
Potomac Vegetable Farms multi-farm partnership CSA — June through fall — bundling produce from PVF and partner farms
Siena Farms CSA share model across Eastern MA + NY
Valley Dream Farm CSA program running through the growing season

contains

Farm CSA is a subscription-bundle retail format a farm may operate

practices

Josie Porter Farm Cherry Valley CSA distributes shares from this farm

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