A commenter on my post yesterday about community supported agriculture programs raised an issue I hadn’t considered.
Would farmers ever skimp on CSA shares in order to have a good selection at farmers markets?
J. Noelle from 24 Boxes noted that she had an opportunity to compare CSAs side-by-side last year. She noticed some weeks her share boxes were “light” reportedly because of conditions on the farm. Yet, when she visited the Green City Market, she noticed that same farmer had an adequate spread of veggies for sale.
She observed:
“It was a little confusing – you have enough veggies to sell at the market, but not enough to fulfill the boxes of your shareholders?”
I’d have been confused too and probably peeved enough to bring it up with the farmer and possibly move on to another CSA the following season.
I spent part of last year’s Midwest market season volunteering at the Oak Park Farmers Market. There were definitely farmers there who also sell CSA shares. Indeed, that’s one of the reasons I’m considering a switch. The veggies at market from some of these other farms were beautiful…cleaner and often seemed fresher than the ones I had in my share box.
But now I wonder about what I was experiencing. Was I being shortchanged or is it a common practice for farmers to pick their best produce for sale at a public market?
That would make sense for marketing purposes. I was after all, getting what I paid for…a regular supply of organic farm-fresh veggies from a local farmer. Still, was I getting the best the farm had to offer that week?
I’m not sure I’d expect to get the best looking veggies. Getting less though would be unacceptable
But now I’m more interested in comparing CSAs and hearing about shareholder experiences.
Virtual Farmgirl 