Community supported agriculture: Alaska CSA movement aims to feed locals.

• Author: Edmunds, Mary
• Position: AGRICULTURE

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If a carnivore eats meat, and an herbivore eats vegetables, does that mean a locavore eats the locals? No. A growing number of people are concerned about not knowing where their food comes from, how it's grown or who did the growing. And, a growing number of agricultural entrepreneurs are meeting the demand for what the Japanese call "teikei," or "food with the farmer's face on it."

In this country, when locavores demand locally grown produce, the need is met by Community Supported Agriculture, or CSAs.

In most CSAs, consumers invest a fixed amount with a farmer before the growing season starts, when the farmer needs working capital. In exchange, consumers share in the harvest, receiving weekly boxes of vegetables. They also share in the farmer's risks, usually weather, blight, or, here in Alaska, moose viewing the crop as an all-you-can-eat salad bar.

Access to local produce is of special interest to Alaskans, where transportation is costly and shipping distance impairs nutritional value. Our short growing season does limit our variety of crops. But the long hours of sunlight and the cooler temperatures give our carrots and beets exceptional sweetness.

NOT ALWAYS LOCALLY GROWN

CSAs also may include farms that supplement their boxes with vegetables and fruitsgrown elsewhere during the winter months. Glacier Valley Farm in Palmer, run by Arthur Keyes and Alison Arians, is an example of the hybrid model. They limit their offerings from the Lower 48 to produce from Washington, Oregon and California. Their customers can order on a weekly, monthly or irregular basis. "There has been a demand for year-round delivery from our customers at farmers' markets," Arians said. Markets, which, in Alaska, close down at the end of summer.

Another method, known as the subscription model, can deliver food from anywhere, even outside the U.S. Full Circle Farms, popular in Alaska, is an example. It has provided fresh produce for such unlikely places as Kotzebue. The subscriber purchases the produce, but has no connection with growers. According to many, this does not comply with the true definition of a CSA.

Some CSAs are run as nonprofits and combine the farming with ecological education. In addition to supplying their shareholders, these farms often donate their surplus to local food banks and shelters. Calypso Farm near Fairbanks is an example.

CSA BACKGROUND

There are about 1,700 CSAs in the United States, averaging from five acres to...