There are more than 250 CSA operations in California, making community supported agriculture an important feature of the local food system!
CAFF hosted the first in a series of regional meetings for
CSA farmers to form a statewide network. At last week’s meeting, about twenty
farmers gathered at Glide Ranch in Davis to discuss the formation of a network.
UC Davis researcher and professor Ryan Galt presented the findings from his
statewide survey of CSA farmers. We learned about what CSA farmers find the
most challenging and the most successful about their operation, the average
size of a CSA in the state, and other data that helps us shape the future of
the CSA movement. Professor Galt is preparing a similar survey for CSA
consumers to find out what type of CSA they are attracted to, why former
members leave, and gather feedback from the consumer’s prospective. For more
information on Galt’s research visit http://caff.org/programs/csas/csa-research/.
Other topics discussed over a bountiful potluck dinner
included direct marketing policy and an explanation of AB 224 from CAFF’s
policy director, Dave Runsten. A lively dialogue about single farm and
multi-farm CSAs followed. We look forward to hosting similar meetings around
the state! Our next CSA network meeting is coming up Monday March 17th
at the Sebastopol Grange Hall. Contact Rachel to RSVP or for more information, rachel@caff.org or 530-756-8518. Stay tuned
for the announcement of the Santa Cruz regional meeting, later this month.
