COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE

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Two former MOTHER EARTH NEWS gardeners are breaking ground on a radical new concept in farming.

"DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR Farmer is tonight?"

Rod Shouldice, head of a bio-dynamic community in Kimberton, Pennsylvania, asks the question—a query first amusing, then haunting. "Our very existence depends upon what we eat," he continues. "Somebody out there is growing the substance of our physical bodies. Are they dumping all kinds of toxic stuff on what is ultimately going to be us?"

Should ice's remarks describe a problem common to many conscientious consumers: How can a person control the quality of the produce that he or she eats? But look at the original question from a grower's point of view, and it becomes, "Do I know where my buyer is tonight?"

Finding a profitable market for crops has become so difficult that many American farmers have a hard time making ends come within sight of meeting. Former MOTHER EARTH NEWS gardeners Kerry and Barbara Sullivan know that problem well. In 1983 the Sullivans left MOTHER to study bio-dynamics (a method of organic agriculture originated by Austrian Rudolf Steiner that combines spiritual and practical teachings) at Emerson College in England.

Once they returned to the States in '86, they faced the challenge of converting their hard-earned expertise into hard income. The Sullivans weren't sure what to do. All the successful market gardeners they knew were selling lettuces and gourmet vegetables to fancy restaurants, but Barb and Kerry didn't want to go that route. "We wanted to grow real food for real people," Barb states. "Besides, we didn't feel we could afford to spend half our time trying to market what we grew." Neither Should ice nor the Sullivans found quick answers.

Rod talked with others in his area and found that many people shared his concerns: They wanted clean, high-quality produce—yet lacked the time or skill to grow it themselves. Barb and Kerry did some searching, caretaking and floundering that first year, trying to find the opportunity they needed. They weren't having much luck. Enter CSA. A concept imported from Switzerland, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a simple yet radical approach to food production. A group of people buy shares of a garden's production. They pay, in advance, for a percentage of the food to be grown.

Then, once or twice a week, mature crops are harvested and divvied up among the shareholders. The results? The members get food security—a regular supply of fresh, healthful produce during the growing season. And the growers get income security—an assured wage and market without the need to take upon themselves all of the financial risks inherent in agriculture. After Should ice heard about two young CSA projects in New England, he rounded up potential members in his community, recruited Barb and Kerry as growers and held an organizational meeting.

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