This paper examines some of the daily realities of
operating a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm
in eastern Iowa and addresses the concept of community
among growers. Popular depictions of local foods systems
often emphasize the close relationships that develop between
producers and consumers. This picture, however, may gloss
over the necessary complexities of a healthy local food sys-
tem. CSA has been promoted as a direct marketing strategy
for small-scale growers and touted as a way of developing
positive relationships between producers and consumers.
Nevertheless, it is also important to understand that suc-
cessful CSA initiatives are often reliant on a broad network
of support that includes more than just growers and eaters.
Ethnographic descriptions of CSA farms presented here
show how involvement by media and other organizations
contribute to successful CSAs as well as an overall concept
of ‘‘civic agriculture.’’ These descriptions also show that
access to affordable, reliable labor tends to be among the
greatest challenges for CSA growers.