What Is a CSA?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You buy a share of a local farm’s harvest before the season starts, and in return you receive a box of just picked food every week while the season runs.
How a CSA works
Farms sell shares in winter and early spring, which gives the farmer money to buy seed and equipment when they need it most. When harvest begins, usually June in the North, members pick up a weekly box at the farm or a drop site. The contents change with the season, so a June box looks nothing like a September box, and that is the point: you eat what your region grows, at its best.
Members share some of the farm’s risk. A drought year can mean lighter boxes and a great year can mean more food than you know what to do with. Most members find the trade worth it for the quality, the price, and the connection to a real farm they can visit.
How to choose a CSA near you
Start with our directory: browse farms near you and filter for CSA programs in your state and town. Then compare share size against your household (a full share generally feeds three to four people who cook), pickup location and day, season length, and whether the farm offers add-ons like eggs, fruit or meat. Reading a farm’s website tells you a lot: farms proud of their growing practices talk about them.
If weekly pickup does not fit your life, delivery services solve that. Farm to Door delivers food from verified local farms in one weekly delivery, and you can shop multiple farms in a single cart instead of committing to one.
CSA questions, answered
How much does a CSA cost?
Most full season vegetable shares run between $300 and $700 for roughly 18 to 22 weeks, which usually works out to $20 to $35 per week. Many farms offer half shares, every other week pickup, and payment plans.
What comes in a CSA box?
Whatever is at its peak on the farm that week. Early summer brings greens, radishes and strawberries; late summer brings tomatoes, corn, peppers and melons; fall brings squash, apples and root vegetables. Many farms add eggs, bread, flowers, meat or cheese shares.
Do I have to pick my CSA box up at the farm?
Traditionally yes, at the farm or a neighborhood drop point. Newer delivery services bring the same local farm food to your door instead, which is exactly what Farm to Door does.
Is a CSA worth it?
If you cook at home most weeks, a CSA usually beats grocery store prices for the same quality of produce, and the food is fresher because it was picked a day or two before you get it. The tradeoff is less choice: you eat with the seasons.