Community Supported Agriculture Members Research Articles

Gaining and Maintaining a Competitive Edge: Evidence from CSA Members and Farmers on Local Food Marketing Strategies

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a widely-used approach for farmers to sell directly to consumers. We used the product, place, price, and promotion (4P) marketing mix framework to examine characteristics that help farms offering CSA maintain member satisfaction and thus competitiveness. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 CSA members and 24 CSA farmers in four states. CSA members additionally completed a modified choice experiment. Qualitative data were coded iteratively, and choice experiment data were summarized and compared across scenarios. CSA members and farmers were motivated by a range of personal, social, environmental, and economic objectives. Members favored high-quality staple vegetables (e.g., lettuce, green beans), ideally produced organically. Trust and a sense of personal connection with the farmer comprised part of the “value added” of CSA participation. Time and location of share pick-up were very important; thus, farmers tried to offer convenient sites or an enriched pick-up experience. Small changes in price appeared unlikely to impact participation among current members. Social networks and word-of-mouth were powerful for marketing, but may limit the ability to reach diverse populations. Future research should examine the ability of CSAs to meet the needs of those who do not currently participate.

Beyond the market—New practices of supply in times of crisis: The example community‐supported agriculture

AbstractThe discourses and material consequences of the crisis dynamics of capitalist societies increasingly spawn practices of production and supply that are situated outside capitalist market logic. One example of such an alternative practice is Community‐Supported Agriculture (CSA), a social innovation that is comprehensively analyzed here in the German context. Applying the concept of social innovation, the authors carried out a standardized survey, semi‐structured interviews and a discourse analysis of CSA farms in Germany. This paper identifies the (international) crisis discourses to which Community‐Supported Agriculture is a reaction, and the motivations of CSA members are outlined. Innovative facets of CSA such as solidarity, de‐commodification, and prosuming are identified. It becomes apparent that Community‐Supported Agriculture is not a homogeneous phenomenon, but can be differentiated into various types ? sociopolitical, spiritual‐communal, and pragmatic‐economic ‐ which differ in respect of how they express (social) innovation as well as in their attitudes to crises.

Community-Supported Agriculture as a Dietary and Health Improvement Strategy: A Narrative Review

This narrative review summarizes the literature regarding community-supported agriculture (CSA) with a focus on its use as a dietary and health improvement strategy. CSA members are typically women, white, highly educated, and affluent. The majority of members are motivated to participate in CSA by a concern for the environment and a desire for locally grown, high-quality, and organic produce. Numerous studies have provided evidence of the economic, community, environmental, and food quality related benefits of CSAs. A substantial body of literature has also explored the CSA member experience and has found that members are generally very satisfied, but membership turnover rates are often high. Research regarding the association between dietary intake and health is more limited and mostly descriptive in nature. CSA members often report increased consumption and variety of fruits and vegetables, changes in the household food environment, and changes in meal patterns. A small number of anecdotal reports also support the association between CSA participation and improved health status. However, there is a dearth of experimental research in this area, and results of these studies are mixed. Future research opportunities include longitudinal studies to evaluate repeat CSA participation and the long-term sustainability of CSA-related dietary and health changes. In addition, research is needed to address some of the methodologic limitations of the current research with regard to survey tools, generalizability of results, self-reporting bias, and CSA member support.

What difference does income make for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members in California? Comparing lower-income and higher-income households

In the U.S. there has been considerable interest in connecting low-income households to alternative food networks like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). To learn more about this possibility we conducted a statewide survey of CSA members in California. A total of 1149 members from 41 CSAs responded. Here we answer the research question: How do CSA members’ (1) socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds, (2) household conditions potentially interfering with membership, and (3) CSA membership experiences vary between lower-income households (LIHHs) and higher-income households (HIHHs)? We divided members into LIHHs (making under $50,000 annually) and HIHHs (making over $50,000 annually). We present comparisons of LIHHs’ and HIHHs’ (1) employment, race/ethnicity, household composition and education, use of food support, and enjoyment of food-related activities; (2) conditions interfering with membership and major life events; and (3) sources of information influencing decision to join, reasons for joining, ratings of importance of and satisfaction with various CSA attributes, gaps between importance of and satisfaction with various CSA attributes, valuing of the share and willingness to pay more, and impacts of membership. We find that LIHHs are committed CSA members, often more so than HIHHs, and that CSA members in California are disproportionately white, but that racial disproportionality decreases as incomes increase. We conclude by considering: (1) the economic risks that LIHHs face in CSA membership, (2) the intersection of economic risks with race/ethnicity and cultural coding in CSA; and (3) the possibilities of increasing participation of LIHH in CSA.

Individualist and collectivist consumer motivations in local organic food markets

Community-Supported Agriculture programs have become a popular model for providing consumers with direct economic engagement with independent local organic farms. The degree to which Community-Supported Agriculture members are unified in their identity and consumer interests, however, is unclear. One possibility is that mostly individual interests including supposed nutritional benefits, superior taste, and avoidance of synthetic pesticides motivate Community-Supported Agriculture members. Another is that they are motivated more by environmental and economic concerns at the collective level. Our study engages this debate by analyzing emergent themes in consumers’ motivational narratives using interview data with 58 members of a Community-Supported Agriculture program in a large southwestern city in the United States. We find that Community-Supported Agriculture members are largely unified in their consumer orientation and pursue individualist and collectivist goals equally. In other words, Community-Supported Agriculture members are neither primarily altruistic nor egoistic consumers, but they approach their consumption as a holistic act. Specifically, they emphasize environmental issues and a commitment to sustainability through local organic consumption as a pathway to individual health. This suggests that an internally homogeneous, yet multidimensional, framework constitutes the motivational structure of local organic food consumption. We argue this framework aligns with an emerging eco-habitus exhibited in environmentally conscious market fields that translate into both collective and individual benefits.

Growing opportunities: CSA members, CSA farmers, and informal learning in the USA

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) began as a loosely formalised, vaguely socialistic agreement between consumers and farmers through which the consumers were provided with fresh produce from the farms. When the institution became more structured, education gained a near-equal footing with the nutritional offerings. My research indicated that the goodwill engendered by the farmers translated into a shared sense of community where information and knowledge could be freely shared among the CSA members and their farmer. Informal learning was an intricate part of participation in the CSA experience. While individuals joining a CSA did not anticipate or expect a learning experience, the season-long process was strongly conducive to many forms of informal learning.

Defining the "C" in Community Supported Agriculture

Since the mid-1980s, participants in community supported agriculture (CSA) have promoted, proliferated, and adapted the CSA model, resulting in CSAs gaining popularity as a trusted "brand." They have developed and expanded CSA by pursuing common branding strategies, such as building name recognition, differentiating the brand from other farm and food producers, and developing CSA narratives and mythologies with positive associations that attract advocates. However, CSA has not been branded via a typical centralized, hierarchical process, but rather through the independent, informally organized collective efforts of its farmers and members. With no standardized licensing or certification process (unlike "organic"), CSAs remain liberated from a strict set of allowed practices, yet debates still occur about what constitutes a "real" CSA. Despite the fact that many idealistic promotional claims of CSA have been validated, one glaring weakness is that many CSA farmers still struggle to achieve financial security. The positive brand mythology surrounding CSA has made it difficult for participants to acknowledge and confront this shortcoming. Drawing on qualitative field research and review of archival CSA materials, this paper examines the identity making and branding of CSA. I constructively critique some of the most fundamental aspects of CSA: its constructed image and its actual practice. Through this lens, I ask how the independent, open-source branding has helped or hindered CSA proponents in achieving goals. By focusing on these aspects my hope is that a variety of advocates, academics, farmers, CSA members, and others, can collaborate on developing a positive next era for CSA and its offshoots both within and beyond agriculture and food—projects aimed at strengthening consumer/producer alliances, cooperative practices, and ethically based community economies.

Linking vegetable preferences, health and local food systems through community-supported agriculture.

The objective of the present study was to explore the influence of participation in community-supported agriculture (CSA) on vegetable exposure, vegetable intake during and after the CSA season, and preference related to locally produced vegetables acquired directly from CSA growers. Quantitative surveys were administered at three time points in two harvest seasons to four groups of CSA participants: new full-paying, returning full-paying, new subsidized and returning subsidized members. Questionnaires included a vegetable frequency measure and measures of new and changed vegetable preference. Comparisons were made between new and returning CSA members and between those receiving subsidies and full-paying members. The research was conducted in a rural county in New York, USA. CSA members who agreed to participate in the study. Analysis was based on 151 usable questionnaires. CSA participants reported higher intake of eleven different vegetables during the CSA season, with a sustained increase in some winter vegetables. Over half of the respondents reported trying at least one, and up to eleven, new vegetables. Sustained preferences for CSA items were reported. While those who choose to join a CSA may be more likely to acquire new and expanded vegetable preferences than those who do not, the CSA experience has the potential to enhance vegetable exposure, augment vegetable preference and increase overall vegetable consumption. Dietary patterns encouraged through CSA participation can promote preferences and consumer demand that support local production and seasonal availability. Emphasis on fresh and fresh stored locally produced vegetables is consistent with sustainable community-based food systems.

Community-supported agriculture from the perspective of health and leisure

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a rapidly growing movement responding to the global economic crisis. The concept of CSA is thought to have originated simultaneously in Japan and Europe in the 1960s and then spread throughout the USA. In its essence, a CSA involves a direct connection between a farmer and the people who share the risks and rewards of growing and distributing food. The benefits, according to widespread international research, are plentiful: economic, environmental and social. In Hungary, CSA is a relatively new idea and in the last few years there have been not more than five or six so-called share CSAs established, one in the author's hometown. The paper presents how the French variation of CSA (AMAP) was adopted in Szeged, Hungary and how this vegetable community works and what are some of its leisure and health impacts on the author. The paper also attempts to interpret the author's CSA membership from a health and leisure perspective connecting this idea to health promotion and to Blackshaw's ‘liquid leisure’ concept.

Civic agriculture and community engagement

Several scholars have claimed that small-scale agriculture in which farmers sell goods to the local market has the potential to strengthen social ties and a sense of community, a phenomenon referred to as “civic agriculture.” Proponents see promise in the increase in the number of community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, farmers markets, and other locally orientated distribution systems as well as the growing interest among consumers for buying locally produced goods. Yet others have suggested that these novel or reborn distribution mechanisms are still primarily means of instrumental economic exchange and that optimistic characterizations of a renewed sense of community emerging from these practices are unfounded. This study provides an empirical assessment of the extent to which these community-based agriculture markets are associated with connection to community, volunteerism, and civic and political activities. In order to assess the relationship between civic agriculture and community engagement, we surveyed over 1,300 people in the Mid-Hudson region of New York State. The study design includes “civic agriculture participants” as the unit of analysis, defined as CSA farm members, shoppers at independent health food stores, and farmers market patrons. For comparison, a telephone survey of randomly selected residents of the region’s general population was also conducted. Unlike studies that focus solely on the perceptions of certain civic agriculture participants (e.g., CSA members), by comparing the perceptions and behaviors of those engaged in a range of civic agriculture practices, we are able to identify the effects of different forms of participation. The results demonstrate higher levels of voluntarism and engagement in local politics among civic agriculture participants relative to the general population. In addition, we found variation among those engaged in different forms of civic agriculture, with those immersed in more socially embedded forms of exchange demonstrating greater community and political involvement. These findings lend empirical support to the civic agriculture thesis.

Food miles, local eating, and community supported agriculture: putting local food in its place

The idea of “food miles,” the distance that food has to be shipped, has entered into debates in both popular and academic circles about local eating. An oft-cited figure claims that the “average item” of food travels 1,500 miles before it reaches your plate. The source of this figure is almost never given, however, and indeed, it is a figure with surprisingly little grounding in objective research. In this study, I track the evolution of this figure, and the ways that scholars and popular writers have rhetorically employed it. I then explore the ongoing debates over food miles and local food, debates that often oversimplify the idea of local eating to a caricature. I then examine a series of in-depth interviews with community-supported agriculture members and farmers in order to bring complexity back to discussions of local food consumers. I argue that the overwhelming focus on “food miles” among scholars threatens to eclipse the multitude of other values and meanings contained in the word “local” that underlie people’s decisions to “eat locally,” foremost among them, a desire to reintegrate food production and consumption within the context of place.

CSA membership and psychological needs fulfillment: an application of self-determination theory

This qualitative study examines the relevance of self-determination theory to explain retention and attrition in community supported agriculture (CSA). Using a focus group study of CSA members, we examined whether belonging to a CSA supports basic psychological needs for autonomy, competency and relatedness. We found that it did for continuing members. However, for those who did not renew, membership reduced their sense of autonomy, competency, and relatedness. For continuing members, the intensity of their involvement did not affect their needs satisfaction, though it did influence how those needs were met. Continuing CSA members were also intrinsically motivated and internalized extrinsic motivations.

Farming alone? What’s up with the “C” in community supported agriculture

This study reconsiders the purported benefits of community found in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Using an online survey of members who belong to CSAs in New York, between November and December 2010, we assess members’ reasons for joining a CSA, and their perceptions of community within their CSA and beyond. A total of 565 CSA members responded to the survey. Results show an overwhelming majority of members joined their CSA for fresh, local, organic produce, while few respondents joined their CSA to build community, meet like-minded individuals or share financial risk with farmers. Members reported that they do not derive a strong sense of community from either their CSA or other forms of community, yet they volunteered at their CSA and appear to be engaged in activities within their communities, though the frequency of the latter is unknown. These data suggest New York CSAs are oriented toward the instrumental and functional models, which emphasize the economic aspects of farming rather than collaborative models, which foster community (Feagan and Henderson 2009).

Community supported agriculture membership in Arizona. An exploratory study of food and sustainability behaviours

Community supported agriculture (CSA) programs have become a viable source of locally produced foods and represent a new way to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among individuals. Because CSAs represent a way for consumers to acquire healthy foods while providing financial support to local farmers, CSA involvement could reflect, and be related to, greater concern with both health and environmental impact of food choice. As such, the aim of this study was to examine whether ecological attitudes of CSA members could predict food- and sustainability-related behaviours. Using an online survey, respondents answered questions about attitudes towards the environment, as well behaviours related to food purchases, family food preparation, composting, recycling and minimising food-packaging waste. A total of 115 CSA member responses were collected. Ordinary least squares (OLS) multivariate regression analysis was used to investigate the predictive validity of environmental attitudes on measures of behaviours. A large portion of participants reported the amount and variety of fruits and vegetables their households ate increased as a result of joining a CSA program. Ecological sensitivity was a significant predictor of sustainability-related behaviours as well as money spent eating out and times eaten away from home per week. However, it was not predictive of family involvement in home food preparation.

Satisfaction in the context of customer co‐production: A behavioral involvement perspective

ABSTRACTConsumers increasingly subscribe to community‐supported agriculture (CSA) programs as an alternative retail channel for fresh produce. Compared with supermarket retailers, CSAs are built around an ethos of community rather than efficiency and economies of scale; and CSA programs demand far greater customer co‐production than supermarket retailers. For instance, CSA members (customers) assume responsibilities for physical distribution, market timing, and financial risk taking—activities that, for customers of traditional supermarkets, are assumed by the retailer or other market intermediaries. Service‐dominant logic suggests that such co‐production activities provide value for consumers. And the expanding demand for CSA programs anecdotally supports the notion that consumers find value in co‐producing fresh produce. However, whether or not co‐production leads to greater satisfaction with a product category remains largely untested. We draw on community theory to test if engagement in co‐production activities leads to satisfaction with a product category. By examining product satisfaction, we test an outcome of co‐production that is consumer‐centric. Results from an exploratory field study suggest that two types of value co‐creation—commitment to co‐production and behavioral involvement in product‐related activities—are positively correlated with product satisfaction. Our results support the notion that value co‐creation provides value for consumers. Interestingly, these findings are antithetical to studies that suggest service convenience constitutes non‐monetary value for consumers. Our study suggests that the community theory is a viable theoretical frame for consumer research on co‐production. Further, our findings suggest that consumer research into the co‐creation of value should incorporate measures of product satisfaction and draw on behavioral as opposed to exclusively attitudinal assessments of co‐production activities. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Community Supported Agriculture: A Commitment to a Healthier Diet

Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a model of distribution of local agricultural produce in which a farm pairs with a community group that purchases weekly “shares” of produce for a growing season, in the approximate amount of one large grocery bag per week per member. This prospective cohort study investigated whether CSA participation causes an increase in the consumption of fruit and vegetables and the frequency of home-cooked meals. An e-mail-linked survey was distributed to over 10 000 individuals affiliated with a CSA-promoting organization called Just Food in New York City. Those who received and participated in the survey were a mix of active CSA members and those who may be interested in CSA but were not participating that year. Individuals were surveyed twice: before the beginning of the CSA season and about 6 weeks later. The survey administered is an augmented version of the validated National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Eating at America's Table “All Day Screener.” Of the 1278 individuals who returned the initial survey, 583 completed the follow-up survey. The response rate to the initial survey is unknown and the response rate to the follow-up survey was 46%. Paired data from those who completed both surveys were analyzed. Among CSA members, there was a statistically significant increase in surveyed fruit and vegetable consumption of 2.2 servings per week and 4.9 home-cooked meals per month compared to the CSA nonmembers. Additionally, a high majority of CSA members reported eating half or more of their weekly share individually, which is a substantial, though variable, quantity of produce. CSA participation is also associated with subjective reports of increased fruit and vegetable consumption.

An analysis of the impacts of health insurance rebate initiatives on community supported agriculture in Southern Wisconsin

Since 2005, four insurance providers in southern Wisconsin have offered rebates to policyholders who subscribe to a local community supported agriculture (CSA) operation. Rebate program participants rely on the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition (MACSAC) — an organization that supports CSA farms and educates consumers about local food systems — to connect the insurance companies with CSA growers and consumers and to manage various aspects of the CSA rebate program, including vetting participating farms. The rebate makes fresh, seasonal, locally and organically grown fruits and vegetables more accessible to consumers by reducing the cost of a CSA share by up to 40%. As a result, CSA members report increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, one of the main goals of the program. With marketing overseen by MACSAC and the insurance companies, the rebate program has led to a reduction in the amount of time growers spend on advertising their operations and recruiting CSA members and has contributed to increased member retention from year to year. Additionally, both the number of MACSAC member farms and the total number of shares offered by these farms have increased substantially since the rebate program's inception. These trends reduce some of the risk growers face and allow them to expand production in order to serve a larger consumer base. These outcomes associated with the MACSAC organization and the insurance rebate program indicate the success of the program, the importance of MACSAC as an organizing body, and the potential for implementing the program among national providers and in other locations where community supported agriculture is prevalent.

Doing community supported agriculture: Tactile space, affect and effects of membership

Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a direct-marketing food network that has the potential to decommmodify food and support farmers while providing consumers with sustainably raised, seasonal, local food. Through an ethnographic exploration of one CSA, we describe the processes, practices, affect and effects of consumer membership within the context of non-representational theory. Carolan (2007) suggests that when non-representational ways of knowing are fostered through long-term embodied involvement in “tactile space,” “deep commitments” to the environment and others are encouraged. This study augments understandings of tactile space. Findings show that members engage in the tactile spaces of CSA (e.g. attending distribution, cooking more), but with varied effects: leading one member to voice compassion for the farmer which “is something you don’t feel in a supermarket” while another admits feeling “like I’ve been conned.” In spite of mixed experiences and affects, on balance we conclude that CSA membership does affect environmental ethics.

The Demand For Community Supported Agriculture

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.6in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has undergone both a rapid increase in growth and interest over the last decade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>As such, the amount of literature on the subject has also increased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>However, there are few, if any, theoretical models of demand on CSA that have been developed from membership data. This paper uses both survey and anecdotal data of members of the Roxbury Biodynamic Farm, the second largest CSA in the United States, to present a theory of demand for CSA membership. Included in the discussion is consideration of the evidence that there is a direct relationship between production method and demand, usually a shibboleth in traditional economic analysis. Further exploration considers the possibility that over time participation influences the very nature of demand for CSA membership, and hypothesizes that this dynamic demand is a necessary but insufficient condition for the sustainability of CSA.</span></span></p>

The Supply Of Community Supported Agriculture

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.6in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has undergone both a rapid increase in growth and interest over the last two decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>As such, the amount of literature on the subject has also increased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>However, there are few, if any, theoretical models of supply for CSA memberships (shares) that have been developed from CSA farm data.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>This paper uses both survey and anecdotal data from the Roxbury Biodynamic Farm, one of the largest CSA in the United States, to present a theory of supply for CSA membership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Included in the discussion is the consideration that CSA farms are not profit maximizing and that the farmers (i.e. the suppliers) knowingly take on the responsibilities and earnings associated with a CSA.</span></span></p>