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Date: 4/4/2023
It’s that time of year again. Home gardeners are pouring through seed catalogs and tending their germination trays. Farmers are planning their crops and starting to tend their fields. And savvy produce shoppers are purchasing their Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, shares for the upcoming season.
What’s a CSA share? It’s an investment in local agriculture — an upfront payment for a season’s worth of fresh vegetables — and sometimes other farm-produced products — from a local farm. The cost for a CSA share varies by farm, and by how often shareholders pick up their share — weekly or bi-weekly.
“There’s a variety of different acronyms for CSA, that’s how confusing the name is. Some people say CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, others say its Customer Sustaining Agriculture,” said Connie Adams of Yellow Stonehouse Farm in Westfield. “We just like to say it’s a farm share program.”
Adams explained that investing in a seasonal CSA share is a win-win for both farmers and their customers. “One of the reason the CSA model is so good for customers is because they are buying direct from the farmer, eliminating the middleman and transportation cost, which allows [farmers] to keep the share price very affordable,” said Adams. Payment options vary by farm and how they administer their program, Adams added.
According to the Mass.Gov website, https://tinyurl.com/5n6pyww4, “Most farmers prefer members pay for the season upfront, but some farmers will accept weekly or monthly payments. Some CSA farms also require that members work a small number of hours on the farm during the growing season. In return, customers receive weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables, fruit or herbs. Some CSAs may even provide members with milk or meat.
For example, at Yellow Stonehouse Farm, the only certified USDA organic farm in Hampden County, Adams said an average share, paid for at the start of the season, provides enough organic vegetables every week to feed a family of four. The CSA program runs for approximately 20 weeks, from June to October.
For farmers, Adams said participation in the CSA shares program helps with planning expenses for the growing season. “The premise is that people sign up for the shares and the famer knows they have a customer base. They receive shareholders’ membership fees early in the season which is helpful as we spend all money early in the season on seeds, compost, fertilizer and other supplies,” she said.
Signup for CSA farm shares continues at Yellow Stonehouse Farm “until the season starts, or we sell out,” Adams said. Online signups are available yellowstonehousefarmcsa.com/ or call the farm at 413-562-2164 for more information.
According to the Mass.Gov website, most Massachusetts CSA farm programs accept shareholders through May.
Like Yellow Stonehouse Farm, Gardening the Community, an urban-based farm located at 200 Walnut St. in Springfield, also offers seasonal CSA shares in both full, subsidized and senior-citizen options. The difference — share purchases not only support the farm according to interim Director Liz O’Gilvie, but also programming that employs city youth while teaching them how food is grown. Located in the Mason Square section of the city, in a community of color, the no-till, pesticide-free farm also offers its employees life skills beyond growing food.
“Our young people who work with us, we help connect them with banks to open bank accounts, something low-income families don’t often have. Our bank partners help them open accounts right on site,” O’Gilvie said. “When we have CSA commitments, we can plan to plant more and also employ more young folks.”
O’Gilvie said most of the people who purchase Gardening the Community CSA shares are from outside the Mason Square area — though the farm does offer a delivery service within a one-mile radius with young people bringing shares to customers on bikes — and that those who pay full price for their CSA help to subsidize those shares of low-income and senior citizen patrons. “They are really making an investment, they are becoming a partner” in the farm and the community, O’Gilvie said.
CSA shares for Gardening the Community open April 1 — “our CSA starts a little later,” O’Gilvie said, with online signup at gardeningthe.org/gtc-eats.html. The CSA season typically runs July through October at Gardening the Community. Memberships are available in full-season, low-income, senior citizen and monthly options. Call the farm at 413-693-5340 for more information.
Find a farm near you
Additional farms offering CSA shares for the 2023 growing season in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin County include the following. Contact the farm directly for share pricing and other provisions of their program.