Types of CSA Serving Kansas City

Although a CSA can take whatever form the needs of its farmer and members require, these are some of the types of CSA currently serving the Kansas City metro: Shareholder CSA, Group/Corporate CSA,Subscription CSA, You-Pick CSA, and Market CSA.

• A Shareholder CSA is one of the more member-intensive CSA structures. Members are expected to take an active role in the farm and/or CSA, whether that be through scheduled work shifts at the farm, volunteering on the Core Group (this is a group of members within the CSA which handles the majority of administrative tasks of running the CSA, leaving the farmer more time to…farm — !), assisting at the distribution location(s) for the CSA, or other helpful tasks. This type of CSA is a wonderful choice for eaters who want a deeper understanding of, and connection to, the farm and farmer.
• The Group/Corporate CSA is a relatively new concept to Kansas City, but becoming increasingly popular. The CSA can be created by any group of eaters who meet at the same location on a regular basis, so it can serve everything from church congregations, book clubs, homeschooling groups, groups of employees within a company, and entire companies! This is a convenient CSA setup for both the farmer and the CSA members — the farmer need merely show up each week with the shares, and the members are already assembled to pick their shares up. This CSA type is also member intensive in that the members create a Core Group to handle the administration of the CSA, in coordination with the farmer. Some farmers run group/corporate CSAs in addition to (and separate from) their main CSA (which they may have been running for years prior to partnering with the group/company). However, if there’s enough demand from a particular group/company, they could create a large enough CSA to meet the farmer’s income needs and have a farmer all to themselves.We have developed a toolkit to assist people who are considering developing such a CSA — you can download it HERE.
• A Subscription CSA is a less-member-intensive form of CSA. In this type of CSA, members are asked to contribute little to no work to the farm or CSA — they simply pick up their shares at the weekly distribution and go about their business. However, the farmers may host “member visit” days or events at the farm so that their CSA members can still get some sense of connection to the source of their food and farmer. This type of CSA is a good match for people who work long hours, or have demanding schedules.
• You-Pick CSAs are unique in that, while members aren’t asked to work at the farm, they get the fun of harvesting the produce themselves. Kansas City has one dedicated you-pick CSA (which was a member of the Coalition in 2009): J-14 Agricultural Enterprises in Kansas City, KS, run by Mr. Joe Jennings. After paying for a share at the beginning of the growing season, members receive a telephone call or email from the farmer letting them know what’s ready for harvesting and when they can come to the farm to harvest their share. This CSA is a great match for folks who want to get a sense of the fun of gardening or farming, and who want to spend some time out in the sun, but who don’t have the space or time (or even the green thumb!) to garden for themselves.Several farmers who don’t run CSAs will offer “you pick” options for some of their produce. Many of these can be found through the Kansas City Food Circle’s 2010 Directory of Local Food Producers. If you don’t think you’re ready to join a CSA but want the fun of meeting farmers and picking your own berries, sweet corn, grapes, etc., this is a great way to start!
• The Market CSA is a new concept being experimented with this year by the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture (KCCUA). In this type of CSA, members guesstimate how much produce they are likely to buy this season at the farm’s stand at a particular farmer’s market, and pay that amount as their share price at the beginning of the growing season. Every time that member visits the farm stand and purchases produce, that amount is credited against the share price (s)he has paid. There is an option to “refill” the member’s CSA share account mid-season. I really like this concept because not only does it create the direct connection between eaters and farmers, and provides capital to the farmer early in the season when it’s needed most, but it also gets CSA members out to the farmer’s markets and supports those vital businesses.

Here in Kansas City, all of the CSAs except for the group/corporate CSA are generally formed by the farmer (who, after forming his/her farming plan for the upcoming growing season, seeks members for his/her CSA); however, if a group of people is large enough to form a CSA which will meet a farmer’s income needs, the CSA could be formed by the members (who would determine the structure of the CSA, and then seek a farmer to farm for them). Part of the KCCSAC’s mission is to help team both sides of this equation up, so if you are a farmer who is interested in creating a CSA, or a group seeking a farmer, please let us know!