I still wonder why we may need a good model? There are plenty of well meaning and often well run organisations that fit the bill with a variety of governance structures and management. Many are a development of years of hard work on a valued community asset like a city farm or have sprouted from a group of people simply wanting to eat better veg without being poisoned by agrochemicals and pesticides.
One of the best reasons from my own point of view would be the fair-trade element. Buying locally and direct should give fairer returns for the grower and better value to the consumer.
The idea that people can be involved in some way in the process of production is probably the single best reason for growing locally. It is not a new idea, allotments have been a long established system of enabling people to get their hands dirty and taste the fruits of their labour. Some even share their produce around. But to grow in any larger volume there needs a structure to guide the organisation and get it to function with the demands of running a market garden, especially if principals of organic or biodynamic growing come into it with the ideal there may be a more sustainable way to produce what we consume.
This is a piece by the soil association along with 'Making Local Food Work' and may help explain a little better than I can.
Also take a look at a few good examples I've found over the years researching London Community Supported Agriculture......................
one-example-from-university-of-kentucky.html
Having looked at several examples of effective Community Supported Agriculture I now realise that the boat needs to be pushed out.
Though the sea may be choppy and the rocks not far below there is huge scope for real and radical change in the way we think about food and our own role in the process.
This is just one example from the university of Kentucky who run a large CSA project for their students and locals.
also a case study with links to the Soil Associations pages on setting up a CSA ...................
a-site-full-of-info-and-help-to-any-csa.html
Case Studies
Stroud Community Agriculture (SCA)
Location & area of land Stroud, Gloucestershire, 50 acres
When did the project start? 2001
No. of workers/volunteers employing 2 full time farmer/growers
paying for a part-time treasurer and
membership administrator
Aim of the project
The aim of SCA is to integrate community and agriculture by managing a mixed,
sustainable and environmentally responsible farm for the benefit of everyone
involved.
and more on Stroud CSA.....................
along-lines-of-stroud-csa.html
Stroud Community Agriculture is a new type of sustainable farming.
Built on cooperation and mutual support the risks and rewards of farming are shared between the farmers and consumers. The consumers commit themselves to supporting the farm and providing a fair income for the farmers. The farmers can then develop the health and fertility of the farm, its wildlife and environment. All the produce from the farm is shared between the supporting consumers or sold locally if there is a surplus.
Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between farmers and the local community, in which the responsibilities, risks and rewards of farming are shared. Benefits are enjoyed by all sides: farmers for instance can receive a more stable and secure income and closer connection with their community, and consumers can benefit by eating fresh healthy food, feeling more connected to the land where their food is grown and learning new skills.
The most common produce for CSAs is vegetables, but they can also include eggs, poultry, bread, fruit, pork, lamb, beef and dairy produce. CSAs are also developing around woodlands for firewood and also more recently fish.
Benefits of CSA
Benefits to local communities
- consumers benefit from receiving fresh food from a known source
- the environmental benefits of fewer 'food miles', less packaging and ecologically sensitive farming with improved animal welfare
- a local economy enhanced by higher employment, more local processing, local consumption and a re-circulation of money through 'local spend'
- educating people about varieties of food, it's production methods and costs
- having an influence over the local landscape and encouraging more sustainable farming
Benefits to farmers
- a more secure income which improves business planning and time to concentrate on farming
- a higher and fairer return for their products by selling direct to the public
- increased involvement in the local community; the opportunity to respond directly to consumers' needs
- receive help with labour and planning initiatives for the future
How CSA can work for you
There is no fixed way of organising CSA, it's a framework to inspire communities to work together with their local farmers, so it's up to you how this works best for you and your local community. Here are some examples of initiatives:Communities can:
- grow vegetables to supply a weekly box for members throughout the year
- sponsor an apple tree and harvest its fruit
- buy shares in a cow and receive interest in cheese
- rent-a-vine from an organic vineyard
- help with the running of an organic farm and supporting a farm shop
- rent a plot of farmland and have vegetables grown on your behalf
- receive a regular loaf of locally baked bread
- receive a monthly supply of organic meat
Farmers can:
- produce vegetables or meat for a group of committed members who pay up front
- receive help with sowing, weeding, harvesting and packing from enthusiastic members
- enable social events on the farm
- rent a field to the local community to grow their own vegetables
- get financial support from your community who pay up front for their produce
http://www.soilassociation.org/communitysupportedagriculture/whatiscsa
London Community Supported Agriculture (London CSA) campaigns to create viable market gardens in and around London
"We are never going to be able to afford local, sustainably raised food without doing it for ourselves"
Having Identified 40 acres of underused or totally disused land in Greenwich alone, with many more potentially available or for shared use in the borough and beyond the scope is simply enormous. We aim to create new community growing enterprises owned and run by their members.Help and advice needed - to join a team of growers and community developers
https://londoncommunityagriculture/
Our listing on Project Dirt
http://www.projectdirt.com/project/9146/
and on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/LondonCSA
Go to our blog at http://londoncsa.blogspot.co.uk/
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