“Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production.” – USDA
Friday is National CSA Day. At Fresh Harvest, we’ve been called a “user friendly” CSA. Primarily because we offer home delivery, customizations, and the ability to skip or cancel anytime – modern day conveniences that have become the norm, and for a few reasons like technology, rightfully so.
We walk a fine line, however, making things more convenient. Some customer conveniences (like cheap produce) negatively impact farmers. At FH, our chief aim is to serve the consumer AND the local farmer. In light of CSA Day, we’d like to highlight the convenience of skipping deliveries, and how to ensure it isn’t negatively impacting local growers.
It is very easy to think a single decision, to skip a basket for example, only impacts us. But if we hope to be a “community of individuals pledging our support to our local growers” then that decision impacts the whole group. Practically speaking, 15% of our customers skip their delivery every week. That translates to several thousand dollars that do NOT go towards Lauren’s hakurei turnips or Mitch’s candy beets.
So next time you decide NOT to hit the “skip delivery” button, remember that does matter! Maybe you’re busy next week and don’t think you can eat everything – getting a basket would be a risk. Your risk has now become the farmers benefit! That is an act of mutual support.
