In the interviews, we asked CSA farmers about the prices for their CSA shares,
how their CSA delivery systems worked,
whether they bought supplemental produce from other farms, and the extent that
they used volunteers on the farm; and in
the survey, we asked about the types of
food and other products in their shares,
minimum payment periods and events
hosted at the CSAs. As a result, CSA types emerged that differed from our original
conception of a CSA — that members
shared risk with the farm and paid for a
full season up front. None of the CSAs
had a formal core member group deciding what to produce, none had mandatory
member workdays, and many did not require long minimum payment periods or
share production risks with members.