Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in and around California’s Central Valley: Farm and Farmer Characteristics, Farm-Member Relationships, Economic Viability, Information Sources, and Emerging Issues

Abstract

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a growing form of direct marketing connecting farmers to consumers.The number of CSAs within California has steadily and rapidly increased since the early 1990s.The purpose of this report is to explore and document the characteristics of, and innovations in, CSA production and marketing in California's agriculturally focused Central Valley and surrounding foothills.The information contained within this document is intended to provide farmers, customers, researchers, UC Cooperative Extension agents, and farm advocates with a description of important characteristics of CSA -social, economic, and environmental -within California's Central Valley and surrounding foothills, and to briefly share farmers' reflections on their experiences.The report includes our findings from 54 in-depth interviews and 48 survey responses from CSA farmers and two in-depth interviews with CSA organizers (non-