The Demand For Community Supported Agriculture

Abstract

<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>

Journal of Applied Communications vol. 97 (4) Full Issue

“…Wordof-mouth advertising was an important way of increasing the number of shareholders (Kolodinsky & Pelch, 1997). Furthermore, 220 of the 257 CSA shareholders who responded to a survey about their experiences with their CSA owner learned about the CSA from either a friend or family member in the CSA or another member of the CSA (Polimeni et al, 2006). Similarly, the majority of CSA shareholders in Minnesota joined due to knowing the farmer or another shareholder (Cone & Myhre, 2000).…”

“…Similar to the CSAs in Minnesota, Sweet Peas CSA in the Midwest grew its number of shareholders through various social networks, personal contact with the CSA owners, word-ofmouth, and information distributed at gathering places of consumers who had probable interest in alternative food sources (Sharp, Imerman, & Peters, 2002). Fliers and posters were ineffective sources for recruiting shareholders (Kolodinsky & Pelch, 1997;Polimeni et al, 2006).…”

“…Community supported agriculture (CSA) started as a form of direct marketing in the United States in the 1980s. Interest in CSA membership has increased among consumers who are interested in purchasing locally grown, fresh produce (Farnsworth, Thompson, Drury, & Warner, 1996;Keeling-Bond, Thilmany, & Bond, 2006;Kolodinsky & Pelch, 1997;Polimeni, Polimeni, Shirey, Trees, & Trees, 2006). Consumers become shareholders in a CSA by purchasing either a full share or half share of the products harvested on the farm (Brown & Miller, 2008).…”

Current Status and Development Strategy for Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) in China

“…[4] In other words, CSA tries to establish a direct link between farmers and consumers. The target is to satisfy consumers' food requirements and protect small farms while possessing its social, economic, landscape, ecological and other multiple functions [5][6][7] The CSA devotes to collectively building a more indigenous and equitable agricultural system that allows farmers to focus on good farming practices while their profits can be guaranteed at the same time. CSA is one of the important forms of sustainable agriculture.…”

Addressing Marketing Issues for Community Supported Agriculture Using Community-Based Social Marketing

“…US consumers have shown their interest in local foods by purchasing produce through a CSA [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Information on who buys local food and their motivations would help farmers improve their marketing efforts [1].…”