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Community Supported Agriculture |
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Prescott College CSA |
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Enjoy Fresh, Healthy, Safe and Locally-Grown Produce Every Week. |
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Invest in the Success of Environmentally-Conscious Farmers. |
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Support the Local Economy. |
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Greatly Reduce the Wastes Produced in Transportation and Packaging. |
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PCCSA
220 Grove Ave.
Prescott, AZ 86301
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Direct all questions
to Erin Lingo
(928) 350-1401
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Make check/money order
payable to Prescott College.
Please do not include it with tuition payments. |
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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an alternative social and economic arrangement to conventional industrial food production. The community makes a bold statement in support of local, sustainable agriculture, and the farmers receive a sense of security in their careers. 'Shares' of the harvest are equally distributed among the community. This method spreads the economic risk of farming during the season among all in vested members. The community gains a greater sense of responsibility and a closer connection to their food source, while the farmer receives support for the quality of life they deserve.
CSA’s originated in Japan approximately 30 years ago through a small
community of women that saw the decline of farming in their area and an increase
in imported food products. The original CSA model revolved around a community
buying all of its food from one farmer and providing everything that farmer
needed to be productive. The PCCSA model varies in the number of farmers
we are able to work with. Prescott is a large enough community that a group
of people joining together can support several farmers, each growing different
crops during different seasons. In this way the PCCSA can supply a larger
portion of our diet year-round and we as shareholders can still provide a
guaranteed income for our farmers.
CSA’s are also about conservation and stewardship. Through buying
the produce directly from the farmers, the shareholders are paying just above
wholesale prices for the freshest produce possible. This may be an advantage
to the consumer but the farmers benefit as well. By selling direct to the
consumer, the farmers can actually make more money than if they sell through
a grocery chain. This relationship of direct marketing allows the farmers
to invest in the quality of the land they farm. The increased income can
go into cover crops, improving the life span of the soil, or simply enable
the farmers to employ the labor necessary to grow crops organically.
In the PCCSA members sign up for a share, (either seasonal or year-long) and then pick up their produce once a week. Because the PCCSA is a cooperative CSA, meaning that we get our food from more than one farm, we are able to support several farmers around the state and in turn provide a variety of produce throughout the year. Depending on the season this includes; vegetables, fruits, nuts, and honey, as well as the option to buy eggs, meat, goat milk, and cheese.
- Locally-Grown. All of the food in the PCCSA comes from Arizona, with an average distance of 100 miles to our farms. In contrast, food in the grocery store has traveled an average of 1,500 miles before reaching the eater.
- Direct Marketing. Through buying the produce directly from the farmers, our shareholders are paying less than retail prices for the freshest produce possible, and the farmers are making well over wholesale. Farmers selling through grocery chains, on the other hand, receive an average of 6-8 % of the price consumers pay for packaged and processed goods.
- Conservation and Stewardship. The increased income received through direct marketing can go into cover crops, improving the life span of the soil, or simply enable the farmers to employ the labor necessary to grow crops organically.
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