What is CSA?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a localized food system that directly links farmer and consumer. It is a relationship which benefits everyone. Farmers share the risks of weather and “varmints” with shareholders, and the shareholders enjoy the freshest organic produce possible. The land is carefully managed with consideration for future generations moving us all a step closer to a more sustainable form of agriculture. In exchange for their financial support, shareholders receive a bag of freshly picked and washed vegetables every Thursday. Pick-up locations are at the monastery in St. Joseph and at St. John Episcopal Church, St. Cloud (at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Cooper Avenue).
Community supported agriculture is a new idea in farming, one that has been gaining momentum since its introduction to the United States from Europe in the mid-1980s. The CSA concept originated in the 1960s in Switzerland and Japan, where consumers interested in safe food and farmers seeking stable markets for their crops joined together in economic partnerships. Today, there are more than 400 CSAs in the U.S.