CSA dividends

CSA, Community Supported Agriculture has been around long enough for reasonable people to ask themselves "why isn't more of this happening", a feeling that was picked up at today's Soil Association conference in Birmingham:

"People are sick of being told to worry about food. They need to feel empowered. We know of lots of alternative local food systems that are sustainable, resilient, viable and principled. They may not be able to solve the global problem, but they can say: 'Nothing we are doing will stand people in worse stead.'"
Bonnie Hewson, Soil Association CSA Project Manager. The Guardian, 3 February 2010

Having just attended the monthly St Davids Eco City Project meeting, where food and CSA was a big part of our discussions, Bonnie Hewson't comments have even more resonance. Gerald Miles, one of our excellent local organic farmers (we have a good share of them down here) talked passionately about the change from his early days of farming when he employed 25 people part time on the farm to now, when he employs none, and farms holiday makers instead. A St Davids based CSA scheme with as little as 20 households paying £30 a month could make enough difference and certainty of income for Gerald's son to become a farmer rather than leave the farm to find work elsewhere. Nine households at the meeting last night said they'd sign the dooted line. We feel empowered.