An excerpt from "Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide".
Incorporating value-added products, offering flexible shares, and flexible electronic purchasing and other e-commerce marketing tools.".Multi-farm systems to increase scale and scope.Institutional health and wellness programs.Producers have adapted the CSA model to fit a variety of emerging direct marketing opportunities, including:
"Current business models for CSAs are diverse and innovative. The farmer receives advance working capital, gains financial security, earns better crop prices, and benefits from the direct marketing plan.In return, they receive regular distributions of the farm’s bounty throughout the season.Members buy a share of the farm’s production before each growing season.Members share the risks and benefits of food production with the farmer.The Sustainable/Organic Agriculture ConnectionĬommunity 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.Community Food Systems: Farm-to-School, Food Circles, and Farmers’ Markets.Marketing through Community Supported Agriculture.What is Community Supported Agriculture?.