Overview of ILO issues in Nova Scotia
Local Food Systems Development
Community Supported Agriculture
Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a growing movement bringing together urban and rural communities that facilitates the partnership between growers and consumers.
CSA generally involves a group of families and individuals who team up with one farmer or a group of farmers, and who then pay a fee for their share of the harvest. They pay part of the cost of the season’s produce upfront and the rest later—regardless of the quantity of the bounty.
CSAs connect consumers to the people growing their food, which encourages them to learn about how their food is grown and consequently how hard farmers work and how undervalued food and farm labour really are in this country. Also, farmers get better prices because they are paid directly by consumers.
“CSAs put the “culture” back into agriculture. Instead of being an anonymous commodity bought in a bland supermarket, food becomes an intimate part of life. CSA members know where their food comes from and who grew it. The farmer-consumer link is made stronger - and more enjoyable - through days when people can visit ‘their’ farm. In fact, some members cite the farm visits as the highlight of the whole experience.”
And, since long distance trucking is eliminated from the process of delivering food from farm to table, less greenhouse gas emissions are spewed into the environment.
CSA Farms in NS
- Sunroot Farm, Kennetcook Nova Scotia