Article 786 of alt.sustainable.agriculture:
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From: Tom Gray <tgray@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture
Date: 12 May 93 09:56 PDT
Subject: Sustainable Agriculture Resources
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[from _Co-op America Quarterly, Spring 1993]
 
CO-OP AMERICA'S COMMUNITY ACTION GUIDE
 
You want to live in a sustainable community.  But how do you get there?
You may want to start small, with an existing organization or group.
Or you may want to start your own community project based on one or two
of the precepts of sustainability.  Supporting local agriculture can
be achieved through a community garden, for example.  You don't need to
reinvent the wheel.  Exciting new models have sprung up around the U.S.
in the past few years.  People and organizations can give you the
technical assistance you need to set your community down the path
toward sustainability.
 
-----------
 
Local Agriculture
 
When you sit down to eat a meal, the food on your plate has traveled
an average of 1,300 miles to reach your table.  Supporting local
agriculture improves economic self-reliance as well as providing
healthier food.  Community supported agriculture (CSA) offers people
a unique way to reconnect with their food and the land through a direct
relationship with a farmer and a local farm.  Through CSAs, a community
of citizens purchases shares in a farm.  A share entitled the
shareholder to a set amount of organically grown produce during the
growing season.  By paying up front, the shareholders also share the
financial risk of farming.  The guaranteed income means the farmer can
focus on growing high quality food, rather than on what crops will get
the best price.
 
This model was "born" 30 years ago in Europe and Japan.  The first
community farming operations in the U.S. were formed in 1986 in the
populous Northeast.  Today more than 300 CSAs are working in the U.S.
The average CSA has 50-60 shareholders for one farm.  CSAs vary in
function: some are initiated by a farmer, others by citizens who hire a
farmer to run a farm.  In some cases farmers deliver produce to
neighborhood drop sites.  In other cases, shareholders collect the
produce at the farm.
 
On a smaller scale are community gardens.  Community gardens are
transforming urban vacant lots, strewn with garbage, into a center of
community.  Neighborhood gardens serve as a catalyst for community
development, beautify local areas, reduce food costs, and provide
valuable recreational and therapeutic benefits.  Community compost
projects can be coupled with community gardens.
 
For more information, contact:
 
Appropriate Technical Transfer for Rural Areas
(800) 346-9140
 
Offers free information packets on CSAs.
 
Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association
PO Box 550 Kimberton, PA 19442
(215) 935-7797
 
A nonprofit organizaton promoting the principles of biodynamic
agriculture.  National clearinghouse for CSA information.  Publishes
_Farms of Tomorrow: Community Supported Farms; Farm Supported
Communities_ by Trauger M. Groh and Steven S. H. McFadden.  169pp.
(1990) $12.50 plus $2.50 s/h.
 
Community Supported Agriculture of North America
c/o Robyn Van En
Route 3, Box 85
Great Barrington, MA 01230
 
Handbook on how to start a CSA by the initiator of the first CSA in
the U.S.
 
The Harvest Times
PO Box 1399
Kingston, NY 12401
(914) 688-5030
Contact: Melody Newcombe
 
Quarterly national newsletter on CSA movement edited by a CSA farmer.
Reports on and provides useful tips on starting and running CSAs.
Publisher's database can connect you to a CSA in your area.  $10/year.
 
American Community Gardening Association
325 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 625-8280
 
A national network of community gardening volunteers.  Provides free
"how to" information.  Publishes _The Community Gardening Review_
magazine.  $25/year.
 
_Backyard Composting: Your Complete Guide to Recycling Yard Clippings_
John Roulac
Harmonious Press
(800) 345-0096
 
96pp. (1992) $6.95 plus $2.75 s/h
 
Community Compost Education Program - Seattle Tilth
4649 Sunnyside Avenue, N.
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 633-0224
 
Public information packet, a master composter training packet, plans
and instructions for building a compost bin and a program planning
packet.  $5.  Or contact your County Extension Service.
 
_Common Harvest: An Alternative Food and Agriculture Directory_
Food Action Network
5324 Park Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55417
(612) 822-7607
 
Directory offers a host of practical projects to create a closer
connection to the land as the source of our food.  Provides models for
alternative gardening, food preservation, and dietary changes.  Chapters
on CSAs, composting, land trusts and more.  150pp. (1992) $9 plus $1.50
s/h.
 
--------------
Co-op America Quarterly is free with an Individual Membership in Co-op
America ($20/year) or Business Membership ($50/year).  Co-op America is
a member-controlled and worker-managed nonprofit organization promoting
a sustainable economy and educating consumers and businesses on how to
align buying and investing habits with values of peace, cooperation,
and environmental protection.
 
Co-op America
1850 M Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
phone (800) 424-2667
fax   (202) 872-5202



