Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has actually been around for a good 25 years, but it’s been increasingly popular in recent years.
For those who don’t, a CSA is a popular way for people to buy seasonal, locally-grown produce directly from a local farmer. Think stocks, but instead of owning pieces of a company, consumer own pieces of the farm’s yield.
There are many things to love about CSAs!
Click here to apply for our Maryland CSA Program…
1. It’s All About Sharing
The farmer sells shares to the public, which is like a membership and usually includes a weekly box of vegetables, and sometimes fruits, during farming season. At Deep Run Farms, a full share is $500, with plans to run through the first week of October. If someone joins mid-July, the fees would be prorated. No one pays more per week just because they join late.
Some members prefer a half share to a full share, which (as you might guess) is exactly half the amount that a full share is. Typically, a full share works for a family of five or six, while half shares are for three or four.
Of course, people can pair up on their own to split shares as well. Deep Run Farms charges less than other CSAs, so people should feel free to indulge.
Other CSAs come to Deep Run for some of the produce they don’t happen to grow. Deep Run rarely goes to other farms. It’s a small farm with low overhead and those savings are passed on to CSA members.
2. CSAs Support Local Farmers
With a CSA, farmers can market their products before growing and harvest season, giving them more time in the fields when those times come.
Farmers get paid in advance, giving them cash upfront to invest in the farm and its products.
Farmers get to know people and form community ties. They have the opportunity to thrive and grow.
3. CSAs Foster a Healthy Community
Members of CSAs get to eat super-fresh produce, packed with flavor and vitamins.
Members love to come and see what’s growing.
Wayne Horner, founder of Deep Run Farms says that radishes show up first, and then lettuce starts to take shape – red leaf, green leaf and Romaine. Spinach is next. A little later, beets show up, along with broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.
Squash and cucumbers come later, as they move right on to the summer goodies: sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon. Tomatoes have been wildly popular. Everyone in the CSA gets excited about them, though watermelon and sweet corn are also favorites.
CSA members develop a friendly relationship with their farmer and other CSA members, get to try new produce, learn more about the ins and outs of farming, and expand their horizons.
Horner and his staff love the produce and the farm, but they also love the customers. Deep Run Farms CSA members are “really local, good people from all around the Hampstead area,” Horner says. They’re just so grateful to get such fresh food – always picked that day or the day before.
Shareholders get to visit the farm and see their food grow over time. Many really enjoy the feeling that it’s their farm. They love being part of the whole “shop local” movement.
“They come to watch me work. They come to pick out a pumpkin. It’s a community,” says Horner.
“I love to see everyone coming around as the weather gets warmer,” he says. “The pickup times this year are Sundays at 11 a.m. and then Tuesdays after 5:30 a.m. If you ever show up late and miss out, I just prorate your fees. You won’t pay for anything you didn’t get.”
“The local thing just works,” Horner adds. It’s the way life and shopping are supposed to be. “Who wants to drive 20 minutes away to pick up days-old produce from another state or country? It’s just not worth it.”
Contact Deep Run Farms today if you want to learn more about our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).
