The Community Supported Agriculture deliveries have begun in the Pittsburgh region. The idea is to allow people to have a personal connection with the food and the land on which it was produced. Customers' CSA membership fees cover production costs on the farm and keep food dollars in local communities. The seasonable produce is delivered to common sites where customers get a box of just harvested, sustainably and locally-grown produce.
More and more farmers in Pennsylvania are adopting sustainable practices but in order to be successful they must establish a solid base of customers. They're doing that through CSA's, farmers' markets, road stands, the internet and the old reliable "word of mouth." Art King of the Harvest Valley Farms in Butler County says he loves to provide "good, healthy food," but "I can grow beautiful products but if I don't have a market, I can't be successful.
Photos: top: Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve, site of a CSA drop-off; bottom: CSA delivery day at Beechwood
To listen to the full audio version of this story, click here.
To listen to part 1 of the Sustainable Farming series, click here.
To listen to part 2 of the Sustainable Farming series, click here.
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