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Food for our Future
Community SupportedAgriculture
Rhos Market Garden, Knighton, Mick and Alice WestripMick and Alice moved to Knighton to set up Rhos Market Garden about four years ago.They sell their produce on various market stalls in the area, but wanted to build closerlinks with the community. They hit on theidea of selling ‘veg vouchers’ which canbe redeemed on their stall throughoutthe year. Although customers are notexpected to work on the farm, Mick andAlice have found that people not onlywant to help out with weeding, but alsowith marketing and even deliveries ofproduce. They try to organize socialevents for their members such as coffeemornings and BBQs to bring everyone together and just say ”thank you”.
Mick said ‘Ours is a very simple scheme, and our local community supports us by buyingour produce up front. That gives us a really secure market and puts money in our pocketsat the beginning of the season when we need to buy all the seed, composts and otherinputs. People want to support us because we are a small local business, producinggood, organic food, and that gives us a real lift.”
Food for our Future: Community Supported AgricultureCommunity Supported Agriculture is based on the idea that local people commit to localfood producers. It could be as simple as agreeing to buy produce throughout the year, or itcould be providing labour on the farm or helping with the administration and marketing.Every project is different, but each one is a partnership between food producers and theircommunities in which the responsibilities, risks and rewards are shared.
Who benefits? Everyone! As a community member you enjoy fresh, local food at fairprices. Most projects produce food sustainably and many are based on certified organicfarms so it’s one way to get great organic food at affordable prices. Anyone involved in aCSA will also tell you it’s not just about food. It’s a chance to meet new people, learn newskills and strengthen your links with your community; in short to have a bit of fun! Foodproducers, meanwhile, benefit from a more secure income, fairer prices and closerinvolvement with their local communities and customers.
How does it work? Every project is set up differently; it all depends on what works for bothcommunity members and producers. This leaflet tells the story of how three groups haveput the principles into practice in very different ways.
Get involved: To join a CSA, start up your own project or find out more about it contact:Tony Little at Organic Centre Wales ([email protected]; 01970 622248) Rupert Dunn at the Federation of City Farms & Community Gardens([email protected] 01834 869927)and visitwww.soilassociation.org/communitysupportedagriculture
Caerhys Organic Community Agriculture(COCA), St David’s, PembsCOCA started up in 2010 when Gerald Miles, who runs Caerhys Organic Farm near StDavid’s decided he wanted to do things differently. “Establishing a CSA on our farm is thebest project we have ever done, it has created a community spirit on the farm supportinga future for our small family farm,” said Gerald.
The scheme is run by a core group that includes both community and producer members.The farm produces vegetables, fruit, flowers andherbs for the members and milk, cheese, meatand eggs are bought in from neighbouringorganic farms. The project now has 40members, and they hope to get up to 70 whichwould generate enough to pay a full time wageto Caz, Gerald’s son, to do all the growing.
There is a small annual fee to help coveradministration costs. On top of that, memberspay a monthly subscription which buys a shareof what is harvested each week all through theyear. It’s not a requirement to volunteer, butGerald likes to involve members in the life of thefarm, whether it is planting onions, pickingcarrots or just popping down for a cup of teaand a chat. Regular open days and socialevents encourage a sense of community andconnection with the land. Rupert Dunn,Community member said “COCA has broughtme closer to my community, it’s offered me achance to get involved, get my hands dirty andmake friends doing so. Without COCA my life inSt David’s would be half of what it is, I think ourCSA offers a great quality of life and I’m proud tobe a part of it.”
09/2012
Find out more. Write to:Organic Centre Wales, IBERS, Aberystwyth University, SY23 3EEEmail: [email protected] us online at: www.organiccentrewales.org.ukOr call the BOBL Project c/o Organic Centre Wales: Tel: 01970 622248Get a little organic in your life. For information on organic food and farming, as well as recipe ideas,
competitions and more, visit our Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/organiccentrewalesFollow us on twitter: #@organiccymru
Flintshare, Mold, FlintshireFlintShare is a community run social enterprise which aims to produce fresh, localsustainable food for its members, and started when a group of local people came togetherto produce their own food. They now run a network of small community growing sitesacross Flintshire. At present they rely entirely on voluntary work by the members,including administration, accountancy, website development as well as the hard graft inthe field. Ultimately, however, the aim is to find a professional grower to manage theproduction.
They currently have about 45 members, and the project is run by a core group of sevenvery dedicated people. Members pay an annual fee to cover administration costs, afterwhich they can choose to open a ‘veg account’ with £25 - all their labour then increasesthe balance while taking produce reduces it. Members are sent reminders to top up witheither cash or labour when their balance dips below £5.00. This system allows membersto be as hands on, or not, as they choose while still accessing fresh, local food. However,it is not just about growing food but about creating a community of like-minded peoplewho want to learn and enjoy the experience of working on the land. The festivals andcelebrations organized regularly, are every bit as important as the produce.
Nikki Giles, who founded Flintshare said, “I feel passionately that local, organicallyproduced food should be there for people. FlintShare is the beginning of an amazingjourney into securing ‘future food’ for our community. People are at the centre ofeverything - they deserve good, local food.”
