Since the concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) was introduced to the
United States in 1984, Wisconsin has provided fertile ground for CSA expansion (Adam 2006).
Within Wisconsin, the city of Madison has a particularly well-established network of CSA
farms. Thirty-six states in the U.S. have fewer CSA farms serving the entire state than Madison
has serving the city alone (Adam 2006: table 1). However, the CSA movement is young and
relatively small throughout most of the country. Through our research, we identify the
characteristics of both the CSA network and the population of Madison that enable the city to
sustain such a large CSA system. The identification and analysis of these attributes may offer
implications for efforts to expand CSA in Madison or elsewhere.