Explore the vast range of titles available.

In this article I develop a political economic understanding of community-supported agriculture (CSA). I first develop the relevance of three concepts-economic rents, self-exploitation, and social embeddedness-to CSA and then introduce a framework that relates CSA farmers' earnings to the average rate of profit, economic rents, and self-exploitation. I then examine qualitative and quantitative data from a study of 54 CSAs in California's Central Valley and surrounding foothills to explain the wide range of farmers' earnings in relation to the characteristics of production of CSAs, the social embeddedness of CSAs, and the farmers' motivations and rationalities. Qualitative data from interviews are used to interpret the results of an ordinary least squares regression analysis showing that (1) farmers' age, number of employees, and type of CSA strongly shape farmers' earnings; (2) the moral economy of CSA cuts both ways economically, allowing for the capture of economic rents but more often resulting in self-exploitation because of farmers' strong sense of obligation to their members; and (3) farmers' motivations are diverse, but tend toward low and moderate instrumentalism, meaning that earning an income is often not a high priority relative to other values. The conclusion recommends the need to recognize alternative rationalities but also to discuss and confront strong self-exploitation in alternative food networks because of the broader political economic context in which they exist.

The Chinese community-supported agriculture (CSA) movement is notable for advocating a revival of peasant farming and food sovereignty. For the emerging food politics in China, the main focus is the promotion of “ethical” food in the context of food scares. Currently this promotion often relies overwhelmingly on an emphasis of ethics of trust through certification of food by intermediaries. Yet, there is controversy among CSA activists, who question whether a certifying practice can improve the relationship between consumer and producer. This paper will present an emerging alternative approach within Chinese CSA circles that focuses on strengthening participatory culture within the consumer-producer nexus. To do so, I will shed new light on the experience of food and farming activism in South China since the late 1990s. The main focus is an empirical study of Chengxianghui (CXH), an organisation that operates various consumer-led action groups in Guangzhou. In order to conceptualise the approach by the activists, this paper outlines a normative framework referred to as “convivial agriculture” that is based on the Guangdong-based practice of the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS). The framework aims to recognise and negotiate responsibilities among different actors caring for the “agricultural commons.”

In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in local food systems-among policy makers, planners, and public health professionals, as well as environmentalists, community developers, academics, farmers, and ordinary citizens. While most local food systems share common characteristics, the chapters in this book explore the unique challenges and opportunities of local food systems located within mature and/or declining industrial regions. Local food systems have the potential to provide residents with a supply of safe and nutritious food; such systems also have the potential to create much-needed employment opportunities. However, challenges are numerous and include developing local markets of a sufficient scale, adequately matching supply and demand, and meeting the environmental challenges of finding safe growing locations. Interrogating the scale, scope, and economic context of local food systems in aging industrialized cities, this book provides a foundation for the development of new sub-fields in economic, urban, and agricultural geographies that focus on local food systems. The book represents a first attempt to provide a systematic picture of the opportunities and challenges facing the development of local food systems in old industrial regions.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how sustainability integrates the business strategy of Brazilian community supported agriculture (CSA) initiatives, and to understand the social, environmental and economic benefits to producers and consumers.Design/methodology/approachA case study was carried out through participant observation, using the techniques of ethnography, in addition to in-depth interviews and access to secondary data. Follow-up was carried out over two years and six months with two CSA initiatives.FindingsThe results indicated that the analyzed CSA activities address, in an integrated way, the social, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability by promoting healthy diet, sustainable agriculture and social transformation to producers and consumers. Producers have their sales guaranteed due to previous consumers’ association; they also receive higher incomes, avoiding the rural exodus. In addition, their work conditions do not harm their health and the diversified production meets the consumption of their family group, increasing farmers’ autonomy. Regarding consumers, there is a strong emphasis on education for sustainability. It occurs primarily through face-to-face contact among participants, at times of basket withdrawal, follow-up visits to production and interaction events at farmers’ place. Exchanges of information, recipes, cooking classes, newsletters and internet interactions are also important. As these outputs, verified in a real situation, integrate the mission and the business proposal of these CSAs initiatives, it is possible to conclude that, in these analyzed situations, sustainability is incorporated into a business strategy. Sustainability is a structural component of the strategy, with practices in different levels of the business activity.Research limitations/implicationsAs an exploratory study, the findings cannot be extrapolated to broader populations. To improve generalization, it would be beneficial to broaden the sample and pursue comparative research between countries and regions. Also, studies should examine which incentive structures and programs would relate more to better outcomes in education for sustainability and behavior chances.Practical implicationsFrom a managerial point of view, this study contributes by presenting emerging businesses in Brazil, which incorporated sustainability in their strategy, contributing with the need pointed out by Robinson (2004) to provide innovative and creative solutions toward sustainability. It also presents some alternatives to achieve objectives of the 2030 Agenda, especially objective 2 (related to food security) and 12 (improve sustainable production and consumption systems). This study also contributes by elucidating alternatives to promote education for sustainable consumption, presenting cases where consumers reported a more sustainable behavior.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by filling the gap pointed out by Arzu and Erkan (2010), Nakamba, Chan and Sharmina (2017), Rossi et al. (2017) and Searcy (2016) about addressing all three dimensions of sustainability in an integrated way, by analyzing CSA initiatives (a need indicated by Brown and Miller, 2008), especially evaluating empirical cases of sustainability insertion in the business strategy, as proposed by Claro, Claro and Amâncio (2008) and Franceschelli, Santoro and Candelo (2018). This study also responded to the need pointed out by Benites Lázaro and Gremaud (2016) to further understand the insertion of sustainability in the context of Latin America.

To examine perspectives on food access among low-income families participating in a cost-offset community-supported agriculture (CO-CSA) programme. Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids (F3HK) is a multicentre randomized intervention trial assessing the effect of CO-CSA on dietary intake and quality among children from low-income families. Focus groups were conducted at the end of the first CO-CSA season. Participants were interviewed about programme experiences, framed by five dimensions of food access: availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability and accommodation. Transcribed data were coded on these dimensions plus emergent themes. Nine communities in the US states of New York, North Carolina, Washington and Vermont. Fifty-three F3HK adults with children. CSA models were structured by partner farms. Produce quantity was abundant; however, availability was enhanced for participants who were able to select their own produce items. Flexible CSA pick-up times and locations made produce pick-up more accessible. Despite being affordable to most, payment timing was a barrier for some. Unfamiliar foods and quick spoilage hindered acceptability through challenging meal planning, despite accommodations that included preparation advice. Although CO-CSA may facilitate increased access to fruits and vegetables for low-income families, perceptions of positive diet change may be limited by the ability to incorporate share pick-up into regular travel patterns and meal planning. Food waste concerns may be particularly acute for families with constrained resources. Future research should examine whether CO-CSA with flexible logistics and produce self-selection are sustainable for low-income families and CSA farms.

Background: Policy initiatives have provided funding for non-acute nutrition interventions to address food insecurity as a social determinant of health, but more research is needed to understand the outcomes of these initiatives in order to determine the areas of highest impact. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the outcomes that were assessed in three nutrition interventions (produce prescription programs, medically tailored meals, and community supported agriculture) that aim to address food insecurity as a social determinant of health, and this was undertaken in order to identify future areas of study that can heighten impact. Methods: This systematic review was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) criteria. A list of search terms and keywords were compiled by the research team. A Boolean search was conducted from 1 January 2000 to 1 January 2023 in the PubMed advanced search database. Results: A total of 1015 articles were initially pulled from the PubMed database, and, after a screening process, 21 articles were included in our review. Nineteen of the articles focused on adult populations or families and two focused on children. The main outcomes assessed were changes in self-reported dietary intake, while a few of the articles addressed feasibility and cost-related outcomes. Conclusions: More research is needed to assess whether nutritional interventions to address food insecurity as a social determinant of health are feasible and more cost effective in the long term. Additionally, more work should be conducted in pediatric populations, which could have a robust return on investment in terms of both healthcare utilization and healthcare expenditure.

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) initiatives are spaces where diverse work relations are performed. From a postcapitalist perspective, these initiatives attempt to create alternative-capitalist and non-capitalist work relations next to capitalist ones. While analyses of work relations in CSA abound, it remains uncertain how such diversification is made possible and how it is shaped by the micro-politics of and power relations in these initiatives. This paper addresses this gap by analysing how power shapes transformations to postcapitalist work relations in CSA. It provides substantial empirical evidence of multiple manifestations of power enabling or constraining postcapitalist work relations through a comparative case study of three CSA initiatives in Portugal. Results show that while CSA creates postcapitalist work relations that are non-alienated, non-monetised and full of care, they insufficiently unmake unbalanced power relations established in capitalist work relations. This paper argues that, when establishing postcapitalist work relations, the selected CSA initiatives could benefit from actively deconstructing internal hierarchies, de-centralising decision-making power from farm owners and addressing oppressive power relations that are ossified in their local and cultural context.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) seeks to address injustices in the food system by supporting small-scale farmers applying agroecological practices through a long-term partnership: a community of members covers the cost of production and receives a share of the harvest throughout the season in return. Despite an orientation towards a more just and inclusive food system, the existing literature points towards a rather homogeneous membership in CSA. A majority of CSAs tends to involve (upper) middle-class consumers with above average education and income levels. Low income is still a major obstacle in joining a CSA. Membership diversification through social support actions is one possible way. Our main objective is to systematize and appraise social support actions of the CSA movement. Taking the CSA principles as a starting point, our main research question is: How do social support actions in CSAs operate in terms of social inclusion and what obstacles and challenges are associated with them? The theory of strategic action fields assists in describing how the CSA movement is positioning itself as an actor in and across neighboring strategic action fields. The CSA movement is clearly positioned in the Food Sovereignty field. By shifting the focus from justice to farmers to justice for members, the CSA movement is now also exploring the Food Justice field. Indeed, the CSAs’ contribution to the food justice movement is still largely uncharted. In our results, we identify both social support actions that are already implemented in the CSA movement in different countries, and the challenges that are associated with these actions. We pinpoint a classification of social support actions implemented by CSA organizers to increase access to their initiatives. We make a distinction between the emancipatory actions that empower beneficiaries and contribute to a systemic change, and punctual, charitable interventions that neither affect the structure of a CSA nor the food system.

Subsidised or cost-offset community-supported agriculture (CO-CSA) connects farms directly to low-income households and can improve fruit and vegetable intake. This analysis identifies factors associated with participation in CO-CSA. Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids (F3HK) provided a half-price, summer CO-CSA plus healthy eating classes to low-income households with children. Community characteristics (population, socio-demographics and health statistics) and CO-CSA operational practices (share sizes, pick up sites, payment options and produce selection) are described and associations with participation levels are examined. Ten communities in New York (NY), North Carolina (NC), Vermont and Washington states in USA. Caregiver-child dyads enrolled in spring 2016 or 2017. Residents of micropolitan communities had more education and less poverty than in small towns. The one rural location (NC2) had the fewest college graduates (10 %) and most poverty (23 %) and poor health statistics. Most F3HK participants were white, except in NC where 45·2 % were African American. CO-CSA participation varied significantly across communities from 33 % (NC2) to 89 % (NY1) of weeks picked up. Most CO-CSA farms offered multiple share sizes (69·2 %) and participation was higher than when not offered (76·8 % . 57·7 % of weeks); whereas 53·8 % offered a community pick up location, and participation in these communities was lower than elsewhere (64·7 % . 78·2 % of weeks). CO-CSA programmes should consider offering a choice of share sizes and innovate to address potential barriers such as rural location and limited education and income among residents. Future research is needed to better understand barriers to participation, particularly among participants utilising community pick up locations.