Welcome to the world of Community Supported Agriculture in Alberta
"Today I will take another step
away from the paths of
social injustice and global destruction."
Anita Gregoire, 2010
This website has been created to help you find a farm close to you where you can purchase locally grown seasonal food, while helping to ensure the longevity of the small family farm. It is updated every year, so the info that you find here is current, as of January 2013.
"Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) links consumers with a local grower. It is not a home delivery service. CSAs spread the risks inherent to any farming enterprise over a larger group of supportive people. Rather than a difficult year being potentially disastrous to the business, Sharers help make small-scale, local farming a sustainable option. We do not guarantee amounts of produce for each week. You are going to get a wide variety of tasty, fresh produce delivered to designated drop off sites. Anticipating variety and change in each week’s harvest is the key to enjoying your Share: we recommend you do not expect a certain amount of produce. You will have to supplement your weekly Share with produce we don’t have available that week, particularly in June and early July: this is, after all, Alberta, and it takes at least eight weeks for the garden to really take off."
Graham Sparrow, Sparrow's Nest Organics
Some farms are organic. Most grow sustainably. Ask your farmer for their farming ethics. Some offer non-working shares. Most require a labour commitment. CSA offers a more sustainable approach to healthy eating in Alberta. Take a look at the options, and find your perfect fit.
This site is sponsored by Anita Gregoire and
"On Borrowed Ground"
An Urban Community Supported Agriculture project in Edmonton Alberta
780-434-7752
http://www.seemagazine.com/article/news/news-main/farmer-0617/
If you are a farmer looking for a better way to market your product, here is an article for Homegrown.org, titled CSA 101: How to start a CSA without any land
I believe that CSA and local foods are going to explode, especially when the food is organically grown. If you are already a seasoned grower, you are probably well on your way to being successful. Here are some tips that I have learned from my few years as a CSA farmer:
Make sure that you know what you are doing in the growing department. Nothing turns people off of CSA like someone selling them a $500 share and then delivering 5 bunches of kale.
Start small. Figure out what you are already selling at a farmer’s market if you already do, and how many shares that would be. Stay within your means.
Stress the health value of leafy green vegetables, and using season extenders, get the baskets full and early with a variety of greens. Teach your clients about green smoothies (Google it for info if you aren’t already hooked.)
Make sure that the baskets have lots of variety, and are neither empty nor too full at any time. I think just as many people quit CSA for too much produce as for too little.
Find a current accessible internet Calendar to organize pick up and work details if they are flexible. If all your members have access to your calendar, you can use it to let people know when to work, car-pooling arrangements, or what to expect in the weeks basket. They input directly to the calendar, and everyone else can see what is happening.
Be prepared to do it all yourself. Another of the biggest reasons CSAs fail is because they plant expecting so many hours of volunteer work time, and when the members fall short of their commitment, things can’t get done. Only take on what you can handle alone.
Create a database for your region. When I started, there was no database, so I created www.csaalberta.com as a resource for all the CSAs in the province of Alberta. I believe that by promoting the concept instead of just your farm, you will be an actionist in the food protection business, and karma will bring the business back to you.
Take advantage of Social Media. It is the number one advertising system for us.
Read lots of other CSA websites to see what their philosophy is and how they operate their pickup and work days.
Do some kind of evaluation at the end of the season. Then you can learn from your members what to tweak for next year.
And have fun doing it. If it isn’t, find ways to make it fun.
If you would like a more complete discussion of the CSA concept, you can go to http://www.biodynamics.com/canada.html
away from the paths of
social injustice and global destruction."
Anita Gregoire, 2010
This website has been created to help you find a farm close to you where you can purchase locally grown seasonal food, while helping to ensure the longevity of the small family farm. It is updated every year, so the info that you find here is current, as of January 2013.
"Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) links consumers with a local grower. It is not a home delivery service. CSAs spread the risks inherent to any farming enterprise over a larger group of supportive people. Rather than a difficult year being potentially disastrous to the business, Sharers help make small-scale, local farming a sustainable option. We do not guarantee amounts of produce for each week. You are going to get a wide variety of tasty, fresh produce delivered to designated drop off sites. Anticipating variety and change in each week’s harvest is the key to enjoying your Share: we recommend you do not expect a certain amount of produce. You will have to supplement your weekly Share with produce we don’t have available that week, particularly in June and early July: this is, after all, Alberta, and it takes at least eight weeks for the garden to really take off."
Graham Sparrow, Sparrow's Nest Organics
Some farms are organic. Most grow sustainably. Ask your farmer for their farming ethics. Some offer non-working shares. Most require a labour commitment. CSA offers a more sustainable approach to healthy eating in Alberta. Take a look at the options, and find your perfect fit.
This site is sponsored by Anita Gregoire and
"On Borrowed Ground"
An Urban Community Supported Agriculture project in Edmonton Alberta
780-434-7752
http://www.seemagazine.com/article/news/news-main/farmer-0617/
If you are a farmer looking for a better way to market your product, here is an article for Homegrown.org, titled CSA 101: How to start a CSA without any land
I believe that CSA and local foods are going to explode, especially when the food is organically grown. If you are already a seasoned grower, you are probably well on your way to being successful. Here are some tips that I have learned from my few years as a CSA farmer:
Make sure that you know what you are doing in the growing department. Nothing turns people off of CSA like someone selling them a $500 share and then delivering 5 bunches of kale.
Start small. Figure out what you are already selling at a farmer’s market if you already do, and how many shares that would be. Stay within your means.
Stress the health value of leafy green vegetables, and using season extenders, get the baskets full and early with a variety of greens. Teach your clients about green smoothies (Google it for info if you aren’t already hooked.)
Make sure that the baskets have lots of variety, and are neither empty nor too full at any time. I think just as many people quit CSA for too much produce as for too little.
Find a current accessible internet Calendar to organize pick up and work details if they are flexible. If all your members have access to your calendar, you can use it to let people know when to work, car-pooling arrangements, or what to expect in the weeks basket. They input directly to the calendar, and everyone else can see what is happening.
Be prepared to do it all yourself. Another of the biggest reasons CSAs fail is because they plant expecting so many hours of volunteer work time, and when the members fall short of their commitment, things can’t get done. Only take on what you can handle alone.
Create a database for your region. When I started, there was no database, so I created www.csaalberta.com as a resource for all the CSAs in the province of Alberta. I believe that by promoting the concept instead of just your farm, you will be an actionist in the food protection business, and karma will bring the business back to you.
Take advantage of Social Media. It is the number one advertising system for us.
Read lots of other CSA websites to see what their philosophy is and how they operate their pickup and work days.
Do some kind of evaluation at the end of the season. Then you can learn from your members what to tweak for next year.
And have fun doing it. If it isn’t, find ways to make it fun.
If you would like a more complete discussion of the CSA concept, you can go to http://www.biodynamics.com/canada.html
