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Community Supported Agriculture

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Fresh Quarter
The Fresh Quarter
 

Q: I live alone - and I would still like to have regular access to locally grown vegetables. Is there any way I could pick up a weeks worth of vegetables without it costing me an arm and a leg. I'm on a fixed income, and have to be a little careful with expenses. The "share" plans seem to be for larger families.

A: Thanks for your interest in buying local food. The common term for what you describe – contracting with a farm to provide weekly shares of produce -- is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. I hear from CSA farmers that the #1 complaint they receive is “too much food!” As a result, many CSA programs offer half shares aimed at single people or couples without children. The price is usually a little more than half that of a full share. To give one example, The Fresh Quarter, the produce stand in the Grove Arcade, offers full, half, and quarter shares, with the quarter share aimed at 1-2 people and costing $10 per week. Unlike most CSAs, this program combines produce from several farms, but it is all locally grown.

You can search all of the CSA listings at our online Local Food Guide at buyappalachian.org (click on CSA). Keep in mind that the weekly shares have already started now and many will be sold out at this time, but others won’t be.

Good luck,

Peter Marks
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project

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