Farm to table

Diane and Steve Eggert started a Community Supported Agriculture program in 2010 with just 10 families.

Last year, they had 85.

“We feel strongly that the relationships we build with our CSA members enrich our lives, and we hope that’s mutual,” said Diane Eggert, owner of Cobblestone Creek Farm in East Syracuse. “Part of the allure of a CSA is the idea of becoming a part of a farm and its family. Our CSA members are welcome to walk the farm, visit the chickens and ask as many questions as they have.”

For the Eggerts, the CSA was a measure to improve Cobblestone Creek’s profitability. They had converted the farm from a corn and grain farm to a vegetable farm and started selling their wares at local farmers markets, but found they weren’t bringing in enough money to sustain the farm.

“After a while we decided to add CSA to our marketing strategy as a way to connect more closely with our customers, as well as to add a new marketing channel that would add much-needed income,” Eggert said. “It was the right decision for us, and we have not looked back since.”

A number of farms have gone a similar route in order to both improve their financial success and develop a better relationship with their customers. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 12,000 farms nationwide market their products through a CSA arrangement in 2012, a 0.5 percent increase over the last time the data was collected in 2007. The numbers have been steadily increasing since CSAs first made their appearance in the U.S. in the late 1970s.

A partnership from farm to table

CSAs call for growers and consumers to join together to share in the risks and benefits of food production. Members of the CSA, or shareholders, pay for their shares up front to cover the costs of the farm’s operation for that season — the costs of farm equipment, planting, harvesting and the farmer’s cost of living. In return, they receive a portion of the harvest throughout the growing season. They also bear the responsibility of dealing with the inherent hazards of farming, including pests or bad weather, which can lead to a poor harvest. However, for the shareholders, having a direct connection to their food and knowing where it comes from is worth the risk.

The benefit to farmers is obvious: since they have capital in advance, there’s more financial security for them in a CSA than a more traditional system. In addition, because they already have a market for their produce, they don’t have to worry as much about self-promotion, and they’re often able to get better prices for their crops.

CSAs are also helpful to the farmer in terms of how they plan out their crops at the beginning of the season, according to Maryellen Sheehan, who owns and operates Hartwood Farm in Fenner (one of the main suppliers of local produce for Café at 407 in Liverpool).

“When you grow for a CSA, you can plan out your crop rotations and grow the correct amount that makes a nice mix for the customer instead of guessing what will be popular at the farmers market,” Sheehan said. “This allows us to grow more interesting crops and work with the seasons.”

Shareholders can get more than just veggies, too. Some CSAs offer locally sourced goodies like honey, maple syrup, fruit and meat. Creekside Meadows Farm in New Woodstock has offered a meat CSA for the last four years.

“We used to sell by the cut,” said Tricia Park, who owns the farm with her husband, Matt. “But there were some cuts that just never sold, and some of women farmers I was mentoring at the time were looking into meat CSAs.”

Park said she put the idea out to the farm’s regular customers and got great feedback, so Creekside Meadows launched the CSA in 2012.

“People liked the idea of getting a package for the month,” she said. “They’re getting different cuts, not what they usually buy. We’ve worked it out so they’re getting high-end steaks, along with other less pricey cuts of beef. They liked that they were getting that variety. I liked that we were able to sell those cuts that people didn’t traditionally buy a lot of. And we could teach them what to do with those cuts. We had people who didn’t know how to cook a roast, which is really easy to cook, but they’d never purchased that cut. So we could explain what to do with it.”

This year, again at the behest of its regular customers, Creekside Meadows is adding produce to its CSA program.

“Our customers asked for it, and we decided we had enough of a vegetable selection all summer [to offer a full CSA],” Park said.

Closer community

It’s not only the farmers that benefit from the arrangement: in addition to the cost savings, increased freshness and improved efficiency, CSAs bring consumers closer to their food roots than a grocery store possibly can.

“A lot of folks really appreciate the connection to the farm, community and the food they eat,” said Brian Luton, who owns Stone’s Throw Farm in Nedrow. “[It’s] great for adults and certainly so for kids. We have a lot of folks with kids that participate in the CSA because it forges a connection for them with their food and eating.”

Eggert agreed that taking kids to a CSA farm can prove a great learning experience.

“It’s an opportunity to teach your kids about agriculture and food,” Eggert said. “We love it when the kids come out with their parents, and by the end of the season they can name every vegetable in their box and maybe even grab a bunch of broccoli to snack on for the ride home.”

In addition to providing access to fresh local meat and produce, CSAs offer people a chance to support local farms, which in turn allows local farms to support the community.

“When you support local agriculture, your food dollars support your own local economy,” Eggert said. “They don’t support conglomerates and their CEOs. Those dollars are being shipped to foreign countries or even other areas of our own country. They support local business people, help them to put food on their table, send their kids to college and build a retirement. And most farmers spend the majority of their dollars within the local economy as well — farm supplies, mechanics, etc.”

Luton echoed those sentiments.

“We earn locally, spend locally and live locally,” Luton said. “By and large, the money that our business earns stays in this community and gets spent with many other local businesses. It’s these types of local economies that really can help to raise everyone’s standard of living and promote vibrant, healthy communities.”

Eggert pointed to the role CSAs and local farms play in maintaining food security.

“Maybe it’s a cliché, but it is a matter of security. A community that can feed itself is less dependent outside of its ‘borders,’” Eggert said. “Remember the gas shortages back in the 1970s? We are so dependent outside our borders for gas that when it was withheld, we all suffered. We weren’t prepared or able to stand on our own. But if we can feed ourselves by supporting local food production, then we won’t experience those kinds of shortages.”

Growing food, growing families

While CSAs have many advantages, Park pointed out that they aren’t the right fit for everyone.

“If you go to the grocery store and just pick up whatever’s ready or whatever’s on sale, eating from a CSA might be an adjustment,” she said. “But if you’re used to eating seasonally and directly from a farm, this is a perfect fit.”

If that’s a new concept for you and your family, Park said the farm owners can walk you through it. She said if you’re considering it, it’s definitely worth a try; the benefits far outweigh the risks. Luton echoed those thoughts.

“It’s not just about the cost but the value,” he said. “This is true of our transactions with local businesses that help sustain families and supports the regional economy. This is particularly true in the case of food and eating, which quite literally sustains us.”

“Basically, a CSA family develops a relationship with us, as the farmers, our farm and the food they eat,” Eggert said. “They understand the story behind what they are eating — what it took to grow, harvest and prepare for retail sales, all of what they are getting in their box and feeding their families. And we’ve watched their families grow along with us — through marriages and birth, their families have grown, and we feel ours has, too.”