A new food programme can offer financial security for farmers and quality organic food for consumers, writes Sarah Marriott.
What could make perfectly sane people send a birthday card and make visits to a cask of whiskey, sing carols to cows in a barn or pay for a year's worth of vegetables in advance? When they are members of a CSA - a community supported agriculture scheme.
Behind this dull-sounding acronym is a dynamic idea which can lead to greater financial security for farmers, good quality food for consumers and a sense of community which connects the two typically distant groups. In Japan, where it originated in the 1970s as a result of food scares, CSA is called "putting the farmer's face on food", and it's a growing movement; in the US about 100,000 families are involved and in the UK, which currently has about 100 CSAs, lottery money is funding the development of more schemes.
The popularity of farmers' markets in the Republic reflects shoppers' growing interest in buying fresh local produce. "Consumers are keen to develop a relationship with producers," says Una Fitzgibbon of An Bord Bia. "There is also a general interest in seasonality - the anticipation of eating roasted beetroot or new potatoes at certain times of year." These markets could be a step towards CSA schemes here.
"CSA puts the culture back into agriculture," says Klaus Laitenberger of the Organic Centre in Co Leitrim, which is considering CSA. "It's about recreating the connection between people and where the food comes from. If you ask kids today where a pea comes from, they say a tin or the supermarket. Thirty years ago, people went to a farm to pick up their food - agriculture used to be part of the community."
The closest thing to a CSA in the Republic is the vegetarian Dublin Food Co-op, which is 20 years old this year. "It survives on its sense of community," says Jenny Fitzpatrick, the co-op's co-ordinator. The producer members - three farmers and one importer - who sell their fruit and vegetables are not guaranteed a weekly fixed income, but develop a relationship with their regular customers. Some 1,000 members pay €20 a year to shop in a friendly relaxed environment for anything from organic carrots to fairtrade coffee, while the CSA input comes from the 150 volunteer members who receive a 10 per cent discount for working two hours every seven weeks.
CSAs around the world come in all shapes and sizes: from an urban allotment to an organic farm where consumers pay for their vegetables by working in the fields; from buying shares in a cow herd to teaching low-income families where food comes from and how to cook it; from buying a cask of whiskey to providing gardening training for the long-term unemployed. In some schemes the CSA accounts for all the farm income while for others it's a small but significant part of the bigger business.
Could CSA work in the Republic? "There's nothing to stop people doing this anywhere, if you have a small-scale producer geared up to supplying locally and a group of people committed to what he or she is doing," says Mark Ruskell, the Scotland and Northern Ireland CSA officer of the Soil Association, the UK's main organic body. "It's particularly suited to small-scale organic production; to farmers who grow a wide range of produce rather than to someone producing 1,000 lettuce a week. And because it's a partnership, farmers have to give consumers what they want, which is usually organic."
The advantage for the farmer is a guaranteed income. It is "farming with no worries", says Mathis Rosenbusch, an organic grower and founder member of Earthshare, a Scottish CSA set up in 1994. "The income is predictable and covers the costs, so I am free to enjoy my job, give of my best and feel valued for my skills and work that I do."
Buying food grown or produced locally is an important part of the CSA philosophy and, says Fitzgibbon, consumers "are increasingly conscious of the effect their purchasing patterns have on the environment, of reducing what is called 'food miles'."
"Organic strawberries which have been flown halfway round the world are high in food miles, while neeps [turnips\] and tatties \ grown here have almost none," says Pam Bochel of Earthshare, the UK's oldest and biggest CSA.
To receive a weekly box of organic fruit and vegetables, the 200 Earthshare members pay £359 (for a family of four) or £233 (for a couple) at the beginning of the year and are encouraged to work three three-hour shifts a year for the farm - or pay extra for their box.
Everything grown by this CSA, which has an annual turnover of about £60,000, is shared equally among the members - so if the bean harvest fails no one gets beans, but if there is a glut of tomatoes or courgettes, everyone gets plenty.
Although it sounds a little New Age, you don't need to wear hemp T-shirts and Birkenstock sandals to join a CSA. "Food scares make people wary of food: where it's coming from and how it's grown," says Bochel.
"Our members include all sorts, from Nimrod pilots at the local RAF base to GPs and teachers. People join for different reasons; to get organic vegetables, because of the principle of food miles or for community building. Subscribers come to the fields and to social events such as the potato-harvest bonfire and the summer garden party."
As supermarket shoppers, we're used to buying whatever we want, whenever we want, but getting your vegetables from a CSA limits you to what is in season locally. In response to this, two Earthshare members compiled Boxing Clever, a collection of unusual recipes such as swede bruschetta and chicory and Camembert quiche.
But Earthshare members are not limited to neeps and tatties. Rosenbusch has recently expanded the scheme to include La Jimena, his organic farm in southern Spain. For a "fruit share" of £45, members receive one box of farm produce a year, olive oil, citrus fruits, mixed nuts, olives and herbs.
He wants to extend the CSA philosophy beyond food: "When I bought the 11 acres in Al Alpujarras, I wanted to apply the CSA idea and spirit to another aspect of life. Now we're offering holiday shares to Earthshare members so they can see where the food comes from, to connect with the olive groves and see how the oil is made."
CSAs are not just about fruit and vegetables, however. At Whiteholme Farm in Cumbria, where 220 acres is home to traditional breeds of cattle, sheep and pigs, a feasibility study funded by the Soil Association and Leader Plus, showed there was enough local interest to set up a meat CSA. Although the farm is already butchering its organically-reared animals and selling meat at farmers' markets, the CSA scheme will provide it with a guaranteed income, as members set up a monthly standing order (for a minimum of £10). "It's about getting closer to the food we eat, not about getting cheaper food," says farmer Jon Perkin. "At farm open days, parents say they can get meat cheaper at Tesco, but their kids are wearing £200 worth of designer clothes and not being fed properly.
"For members, we offer free access to the farm, free delivery, cheaper bulk orders and social events, such as barbecues and barn dances. The idea is to build up the sense of a 'club', of a group of people who have a sense of belonging to the farm and an interest in it," says Perkin, who was forced to leave his family farm in Cornwall because it couldn't support two families.
The social and community aspect of CSAs is more important to some schemes than others. "We wanted a way of getting people involved in the farm," says Pam Rodway, who makes cheese and runs a cowshare scheme from Wester Lawrenceton farm, near Earthshare's farm in Moray, Scotland. "We started in 1997 with a herd of dairy goats, four Ayreshire cows, a simple milking set-up and friends who wanted to support us. They invested £500 each in the herd and in return get an 8 per cent dividend, which is £40 worth of cheese a year."
The CSA investment (which makes up only 2 per cent of the farm's turnover) helped to expand theherd, but, more importantly for Rodway, the 20 cowsharers provide support for the 95-acre farm. "We have access to a small talented group of people - farmers, accountants, alternative therapists, business people - who give us advice and volunteer labour.
"People are disconnected from farms so there is an educational role too; teenagers can learn how to work in a dairy and children can see where their food comes from. We have celebrations - harvest, Christmas and St Brigid's Day - and I love to see children enjoying local produce. The farm is on a hill near the coast and has wonderful views. Cowsharers can come any time they like: walk around, sit and talk to the animals, sketch, bring a new girlfriend."
"CSAs are marginal now but could be an important niche market in a few years," says Ruskell, whose job to help develop CSAs in Northern Ireland and Scotland is funded by the National Lottery. "The vast majority of food in the EU is sold through a narrow range of supermarket multinationals, and it doesn't matter where you shop, the experience is the same, with similar products, ranges and packaging.
"CSA is about setting up a different supply chain, cutting out the middle-man and linking directly to the consumer. It's about providing a different experience."
The Organic Centre, Co Leitrim: www.theorganiccentre.ie
Soil Association: www.soilassociation.org
Dublin Food Co-op is at St Andrew's Resource Centre, Pearse St, every Saturday, 9.30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Non-members welcome, €2 a day. Tel: 01-8731451