Helping Farmers with Continuation Planning for Cost-Offset Community Supported Agriculture to Low-Income Families

Sitaker, Marilyn; McCall, Mackenzie; Kolodinsky, Jane; Wang, Weiwei; Ammerman, Alice S.; Bulpitt, Kristin; Pitts, Stephanie Jilcott; Hanson, Karla L.; Volpe, Leah C; Seguin‐Fowler, Rebecca A.

doi:10.5304/jafscd.2020.094.037

Cited by 7 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In previous studies, farmers have expressed concerns about the time, labor, and skills it would require to raise funds, recruit low-income members, and administer the CO-CSA going forward (Quandt et al, 2013;Sitaker et al, 2020b). Nonprofits are able to address these challenges through the infrastructure, resources, and staffing they are able to devote to operating the CO-CSA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent national survey of CSA managers found that 14.4% of 495 farms interviewed nationwide had cost-offset voucher programs for LIHH; an additional 67.7% expressed interest in coordinating with other pro-ducers to adopt a similar program (Woods, Ernst & Tropp, 2017). Several toolkits have been developed with advice on how to start or run CO-CSA programs for LIHH (Sitaker et al, 2020b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, other studies have described benefits that are nonmonetary, as well as those that could be considered as precursors to increased farm revenue. For example, many farmers reported that offering a CO-CSA helped them meet the social justice component of their mission, expand their membership, and add to farm income (Abbott, 2014;Andreatta et al, 2008;Cohen & Derryk, 2011, Seguin-Fowler et al, 2020Sitaker et al, 2020a;2020b). However, some were challenged by the time it took to collect and record weekly payments and follow up on missed payments and pick-ups (Hoffman et al, 2012;Sitaker et al, 2020aSitaker et al, , 2020b.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, many farmers reported that offering a CO-CSA helped them meet the social justice component of their mission, expand their membership, and add to farm income (Abbott, 2014;Andreatta et al, 2008;Cohen & Derryk, 2011, Seguin-Fowler et al, 2020Sitaker et al, 2020a;2020b). However, some were challenged by the time it took to collect and record weekly payments and follow up on missed payments and pick-ups (Hoffman et al, 2012;Sitaker et al, 2020aSitaker et al, , 2020b. Additionally, many independent farms wanting to start a CO-CSA, or continue one after study funding ended, expressed concerns about the time, labor, and skill it would require to raise funds, recruit low-income members, and administer the CO-CSA going forward (Quandt et al, 2013;Sitaker et al, 2020b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, some were challenged by the time it took to collect and record weekly payments and follow up on missed payments and pick-ups (Hoffman et al, 2012;Sitaker et al, 2020aSitaker et al, , 2020b. Additionally, many independent farms wanting to start a CO-CSA, or continue one after study funding ended, expressed concerns about the time, labor, and skill it would require to raise funds, recruit low-income members, and administer the CO-CSA going forward (Quandt et al, 2013;Sitaker et al, 2020b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Models for cost-offset community supported agriculture (CO-CSA) programs

Sitaker

McCall

Wang

et al. 2021

J. Agric. Food Syst. Community Dev.

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Cost-offset community supported agriculture (CO-CSA) appears to be a promising way to increase low-income households’ access and intake of fresh produce, while also helping CSA farms expand their farm business. Yet single farms operating CO-CSAs may struggle to balance the demands of farming with CO-CSA program administration, funding, and recruitment. To address these challenges, CO-CSA programs operated by nonprofits have emerged, equipped with dedicated infrastructure, resources, and staffing. This study aims to describe organizational models and best practices of nonprofit CO-CSA programs, using a qualitative approach. We conducted interviews with five well-established nonprofit CO-CSA programs in the U.S. Administration of these five nonprofit CO-CSAs took several forms: (1) providing direct subsidies to individual CO-CSA member farms; (2) functioning themselves as an aggregator, packer, and distributor of regional produce; and (3) sourcing from an in-house farm incubator or food hub, then packing and coordinating delivery to pick-up sites. Nonprofit CO-CSA funding strategies included grants from federal and local government sources, private donations, fundraising, and grants. Marketing efforts occurred via social media, community events, and word of mouth. Both fundraising and recruitment were greatly facilitated by relationships with community partners. Having dedicated staff, as well as a community that values local agriculture and social justice, were identified as success factors. This descriptive, qualitative study systematically compares the attributes of five nonprofit CO-CSA programs. Future research should focus on identifying the cost-effectiveness of nonprofit CO-CSAs, compare the relative merits of single-farm and nonprofit CO-CSAs, and quantify the economic benefit of CO-CSA programs for farmers and local communities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Models for cost-offset community supported agriculture (CO-CSA) programs

Sitaker

McCall

Wang

et al. 2021

J. Agric. Food Syst. Community Dev.

Self Cite

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show abstract

Food justice in community supported agriculture – differentiating charitable and emancipatory social support actions

Parot,

Wahlen,

Schryro

et al. 2023

Agric Hum Values

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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) seeks to address injustices in the food system by supporting small-scale farmers applying agroecological practices through a long-term partnership: a community of members covers the cost of production and receives a share of the harvest throughout the season in return. Despite an orientation towards a more just and inclusive food system, the existing literature points towards a rather homogeneous membership in CSA. A majority of CSAs tends to involve (upper) middle-class consumers with above average education and income levels. Low income is still a major obstacle in joining a CSA. Membership diversification through social support actions is one possible way. Our main objective is to systematize and appraise social support actions of the CSA movement. Taking the CSA principles as a starting point, our main research question is: How do social support actions in CSAs operate in terms of social inclusion and what obstacles and challenges are associated with them? The theory of strategic action fields assists in describing how the CSA movement is positioning itself as an actor in and across neighboring strategic action fields. The CSA movement is clearly positioned in the Food Sovereignty field. By shifting the focus from justice to farmers to justice for members, the CSA movement is now also exploring the Food Justice field. Indeed, the CSAs’ contribution to the food justice movement is still largely uncharted. In our results, we identify both social support actions that are already implemented in the CSA movement in different countries, and the challenges that are associated with these actions. We pinpoint a classification of social support actions implemented by CSA organizers to increase access to their initiatives. We make a distinction between the emancipatory actions that empower beneficiaries and contribute to a systemic change, and punctual, charitable interventions that neither affect the structure of a CSA nor the food system.

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Offsetting the cost of community-supported agriculture (CSA) for low-income families: perceptions and experiences of CSA farmers and members

Pitts

Volpe

Sitaker

et al. 2021

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is an alternative food marketing model in which community members subscribe to receive regular shares of a farm's harvest. Although CSA has the potential to improve access to fresh produce, certain features of CSA membership may prohibit low-income families from participating. A ‘cost-offset’ CSA (CO-CSA) model provides low-income families with purchasing support with the goal of making CSA more affordable. As a first step toward understanding the potential of CO-CSA to improve access to healthy foods among low-income households, we interviewed 24 CSA farmers and 20 full-pay CSA members about their experiences and perceptions of the cost-offset model and specific mechanisms for offsetting the cost of CSA. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and coded using a thematic approach. Ensuring that healthy food was accessible to everyone, regardless of income level, was a major theme expressed by both farmers and members. In general, CSA farmers and CSA members favored member donations over other mechanisms for funding the CO-CSA. The potential time burden that could affect CSA farmers when administering a cost-offset was a commonly-mentioned barrier. Future research should investigate various CO-CSA operational models in order to determine which models are most economically viable and sustainable.

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Helping Farmers with Continuation Planning for Cost-Offset Community Supported Agriculture to Low-Income Families

Cited by 7 publications

References 20 publications

Models for cost-offset community supported agriculture (CO-CSA) programs

Models for cost-offset community supported agriculture (CO-CSA) programs

Food justice in community supported agriculture – differentiating charitable and emancipatory social support actions

Offsetting the cost of community-supported agriculture (CSA) for low-income families: perceptions and experiences of CSA farmers and members

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