Community supported agriculture comes to Sterling

Andy Meeks constructed this high tunnel with a grant from the NCRS. Photos by D. Coffey.

Andy Meeks undid a clip holding a thick plastic door to his new high tunnel and stepped inside. The 24-feet by 40-feet building is the most recent addition to Meeks' farm, Spring Lake Gardens in Sterling. It will be home to the vegetables he is planning on selling as Community Supported Agricultural shares. Cold-hardy plants like beets, carrots, green onions and peas will go into the beds eventually. But Meeks is looking for his paying customers in the middle of winter, which is how CSA shares work.

A person buys into the program before harvest even begins. Payment is made up front for the entire growing season, or 22 weeks in Meeks' case. As vegetables ripen and the farmer harvests them, share members come to the farm to pick up their weekly allotments.

The plan provides local, fresh, seasonally-grown vegetables every week. The benefits of the CSA business model include higher nutrient values of the produce, stronger local economies, a connection between farmer and the community, and a smaller environmental footprint, according to Meeks.

Vegetables are harvested in season, so the customer gets what is grown. Tomatoes, for instance, might not be available until warm weather hits. And if crops fail, share members suffer the consequences.

“There is definitely shared risk in the whole endeavor,” said Meeks. “The hurricane last year was a setback for us. A lot of the tomatoes were damaged, but there were still vegetables going out. Having CSA members dampened the blow.”

Wayne Hansen of Wayne's Organic Garden in Oneco was surprised to see the CSA concept take hold in the U.S. in the 1980s. “I'm always surprised that it works,” he said recently. “You have to have a lot of faith in people.”

Hansen sells most of his produce at farmers' markets in Danielson, Old Saybrook and Putnam, and at the Willimantic Food Coop. But he does offer something like CSA shares to a small number of people for the course of 14 weeks. “To me, a pure CSA is where a farm is completely dedicated to the people who own the shares,” said Hansen. “What I have is a subscription plan and it's based on an amount of money every week.”

The first CSAs were started in Germany and Japan when people got together to pay a farmer to grow food for them. CSAs provide food in season. Share members get what is grown that week. “Generally speaking,” Hansen said, “there isn't a lot of choice. You get whatever grows that week.”

But it is all fresh and local. And Wayne's is certified organic and has been since 1989. While Spring Lake Garden isn't a certified organic farm, Meeks has signed the Farmer's Pledge with CTNOFA to practice sound ecological farming.

For Meeks and Hansen, it’s a local food issue. “My vegetables aren't bred for a long shelf life,” Meeks said. “They don't have to travel far.” It's part of the rationale for his getting into the business.

“You eat something good and fresh and realize food is supposed to taste good,” said Hansen. “It's not hard to do better than what's in the grocery store.” Hansen uses the farmers' markets to educate people about New England offerings. “The thing that's great about local agriculture is it can be diverse. I have fun with people coming up and asking what certain vegetables are. You give them idea of what to do with something and they start coming back every week.”

Both Meeks and Hansen say that their customers probably get a better deal than if they buy organic from the grocery store. But the CSA concept isn't just about saving money, if in fact it does. “I think that this is going to be basis of the rebuilding of the local economy,” said Meeks. “It all starts with food, I guess.”