<< Back to main

GEFA CSA Q&A!

Posted 4/5/2009 11:25am by Lyndon Hartz.

Acronyms. I’ve never really cared for them. My husband and I have both worked (and are working, in his case) in corporate America and have found that fluency in acronym usage and corporate upper management are synonymous. That’s probably why I’m down on my hands and knees in dirt and not giving Power Point presentations anymore…..unless, of course, that presentation has to do with a GEFA CSA.

Salad greens in Anne's hoophouse Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a term that has been around since the 1980’s. Similar to other acronyms, the elongated wording sheds little light on what it really is. Let us delve deeper. Community, in today’s terms, means local. Although “local” connotes various things to various people, in our dictionary it means we can get there in about an hour or less. So, those of you who live within an hour or so of any of the Good Earth Food Alliance, or GEFA, growers or producers are part of what we might refer to as community. Supported Agriculture refers to the raising of certain crops and livestock that are not of the scale and type to be economically viable. In other words, supported agriculture is producing foods because they are good for the earth and good for our bodies – not because they reap the highest profit.

As a community decides to become involved in the decisions about local land usage, healthful food options, fairly traded foods, wider and fresher varieties of available produce, and local sustainability practices, a CSA provides a vehicle for change. Small sustainable growers of produce cannot compete financially with large-scale operations and, therefore, need a community’s support to remain viable. An individual can choose different levels of support starting with purchasing locally produced foods from the grocery store or frequenting a restaurant that serves meals prepared with locally-grown foods. The next step might be to shop a farmers’ market and patronize vendors selling local fresh foods and using sustainable growing methods. A third level of commitment is membership in a CSA, whereby food dollars are spent in the spring for fresh local vegetables, fruits, herbs and nuts that are delivered weekly all season long, keeping the refrigerator stocked full of seasonally fresh foods.

Whatever level of involvement an individual or a community seeks, small steps in the right direction will eventually add up to great change. TTYL! (chat speak – “talk to ya later!”)

On the Good Earth Food Alliance website:

Market page will keep an updated listing of area markets where GEFA growers and producers will be selling. Go meet your grower!
The history and evolution of CSA's is highlighted here.