CSAs and other Creative Ways to Sell Vegies

One of the functions of my organization here, and ones it works with, is to help farmers be self-sufficient and sustainable. But ultimately you must have a market for your goods. Tok (it's an unaspirated T that sounds a lot like a D) is working on his dissertation and has been working with farmers for a couple of years now. And despite his T-shirt (a gift he told me) he talks about marketing and about going to a seminar on branding. Last year he took me out to Mr. Diraek's farm when I got here. And last week we talked about getting consumers to buy shares in the farm. I talked about people I knew in Anchorage who did just that, and got a huge box of fresh vegetables every week or so all summer. I promised him I'd get him information on how people do that in the US. So here's some of that information. With pictures of today's trip out to one of the farmers' markets where they sell their organic produce.

I discovered the word is CSA or Consumer Supported Agriculture. It's done a variety of ways. From Local Harvest:

A CSA, (for Community Supported Agriculture) is a way for the food buying public to create a relationship with a farm and to receive a weekly basket of produce. By making a financial commitment to a farm, people become "members" (or "shareholders," or "subscribers") of the CSA. Most CSA farmers prefer that members pay for the season up-front, but some farmers will accept weekly or monthly payments. Some CSAs also require that members work a small number of hours on the farm during the growing season.

A CSA season typically runs from late spring through early fall. The number of CSAs in the United States was estimated at 50 in 1990, and has since grown to over 2200.

UMassVegetable gives a detailed description of CSAs. Here's a bit on how they work:

How Does CSA Work?

Money, Members and Management

A farmer or grower, often with the assistance of a core group, draws up a budget reflecting the production costs for the year. This includes all salaries, distribution costs, investments for seeds and tools, land payments, taxes, machinery maintenance, etc. The budget is then divided by the number of people the farm will provide for and this determines the cost of each share of the harvest. One share is usually designed to provide the weekly vegetable needs for a family of four. Share prices reflect many variables and average between $300 and $600. Flowers, fruit, meat, honey, eggs and dairy products are also available through some CSA.

Brookfieldfarm.org explains what a share includes on their farm.

What's in a share?

• Between 5 and 18 lbs. (14 lbs. avg.) of produce each week from the first week of June ‘til Thanksgiving
• We think this will be sufficient produce for 2 adults (non-vegetarian) or 1 adult (vegetarian)

All shares also include:

• a variety of Pick-Your-Own (PYO) vegetables, herbs, berries, and flowers (we harvest about 90% of the food for you - but some items are strictly PYO - beans, peas, cherry tomatoes, flowers, and strawberries)
• the opportunity to purchase our own bulk produce at wholesale prices for canning and freezing
• the opportunity to purchase Brookfield Farm raised beef and pork
• a weekly newsletter during harvest season with recipes, farm news, and other good stuff!
• access to Brookfield Farm's 50 acres of land for recreational use
• the opportunity for your family to participate in educational programs and seasonal festivals

A Share is Seasonal:

• Throughout the season, your weekly share is made up of the freshest vegetables available from the farm. The variety and amount in the share depend on the season and the weather.
• Here’s a sample of what you might get in one week’s share in June and September: (You can click the link to see what's in the shares)
  

Here's link to a photo tour of the Brookfield farm.


Heirloom farms has 'workshares' as well as CSA:

What is a Workshare?

A workshare is someone who works 8 hours a week from the middle of May through the end of October in exchange for a share of the farm's produce. Workshares differ from one-time volunteers and CSA members who perform a work commitment in that they develop some skill and speed over the course of a season, which gives them an important role to play in meeting the farm's labor needs.

These are jackfruit.

This is Khiew - it means green. Mr. Diraek is her husband. She was tired after getting up around 4am to get things to the market by 5 or 6am. We got there late when most people had already left. She said this was hard work. Tok showed me a powerpoint yesterday where he's got various marketing ideas in the works - from CSA's to home and office delivery. In some ways, this is really a return to Thailand's past where food was grown with natural fertilizers and not full of pesticides and farmers sold their produce locally. And it's also part of a worldwide trend. They key is making it work right. As Khiew's tired face shows this isn't easy. But they are doing the most important job - producing good food.

These are the prices agreed upon by the farmers. They're a good buy.

And here is one of the farmers' id certifying his organic credentials. A New York Times article today says that consumers aren't always aware that US organic labeling doesn't mean the food is safer than non-organic food. It's only about how it is grown. That farmers work hard seems to be true around the world. But they are trying out new ways to connect with consumers.


Continuing with the varieties of CSAs,

Alaska's Glaciervalleycsa expands the idea by getting produce from Outside Alaska as well as Alaska (it's year round). The interesting thing is that you can order a
box (they choose what goes in the box) when you want, but you don't have
to get a box every week. One reader posted a message that this wasn't really a CSA because they imported food from elsewhere. The response was, well, if they are going to provide food year round in Alaska, they have to. Are the vegies they get any different from what Safeway and Fred Meyers sells? I don't know.

And there is even a site that advertises for
Internships, Apprenticeships, and Jobs on Organic and Sustainable ...
Here's a site looking for organic volunteers and employees. It says
"Educational Exchanges in Sustainability" This appears to be the page
for Alaska farms. I'm not excited how the site looks on my computer.

Here's from one of the Anchorage Daily News blogs about CSA's in the
Anchorage area.


And an Alaska Farm: Alaska Organic Farm

To what extent can Alaska farms feed Alaskans? How much can rural Alaskans grow in the summer? In greenhouses in the winter? You can argue that these kinds of grown foods aren't traditional foods, but they would be much healthier than a lot of the food sold in rural Alaska.