Imagine your loved ones/friends receiving organic produce every week for 20 weeks in the summer/fall! And each time they receive their fresh bounty, they remember what a great gift giver you are.

I was recently flying on Delta Airlines and read an article in the Delta Sky magazine about community supported agriculture (CSA). The author, John Grossmann, described (wonderfully) how he and his wife had recently joined Honey Brook Farm’s CSA program by purchasing a “share” of the crop for the year (summer/fall).

I can’t emphasize enough what a great read that article is!!! (here’s the link to the article again for convenience)

And, I immediately thought - what a cool gift idea to give someone a share in an organic farm’s produce!

Basic Information

While you can easily find information about Community Supported Agriculture with a simple Google search, you may find some fairly dry information such as this Wikipedia entry. You can also find some more user-friendly information such as this very nice Squidoo lens on the topic.

How Much Does it Cost?

I’m not exactly sure how much Mr. Grossmann paid for his share, but in this article about a new farm program that Honey Brook set up in Chesterfield, PA, shares were going for $358 for an individual and $604 for a family (per season).

The Wikipedia entry referenced above indicates that shares can range from $350 to $500 for a season.

The Urban Ecology Center provides some indication of costs on this page. Here is the excerpt for your convenience:

The typical cost of a CSA share averages from $20-25 a week. As a shareholder, you pay up front for the entire season, which ranges from 19 to 27 weeks, depending on the farm. Share size also varies from farm to farm. Some farms offer “worker shares” exchanging work for a share of produce. Others have either convenient payment plans or assistance funds that can offset part of the cost of a share.

How Do I Find a CSA?

Here are a few resources for locating a CSA farm near you:

• Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association - CSA Locator (use the sort by state function to browse for farms in your state)
• Newfarm.org - Farm Locator (nice way to search their database)
• National Agricultural Library - CSA Resources

More Information

Some blogs published by local CSA farmers:

• Belmont CSA, Belmont, MA
• Claggett Farm, Chesapeake Bay, MD
• Eat Well Farm, Dixon, CA
• Smith Gardens Community Farm, Cochrane, WI
• Full Circle Farm, Carnation, WA
• Sackville CSA, New Brunswick, Canada

There are a number of books on the topic (available at Amazon.com). Here is one of them…

Eat well, my friends! -GiftGuy

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