(11/22/11) Community Supported Agriculture programs, or CSAs, have become a familiar consumer choice. Growers reduce financial risk by selling shares in advance of the season's production. Share-holders get regular baskets of fresh-picked vegetables, without all the weeding and watering.
Done right, CSAs help people eat better and get to know local farmers. But the model doesn't always include meat, or help those with no money to spare.
A family farm near Oxford Mills, Ontario has established a CSA that takes those gaps into account. Shares in Sunflower Farm cover the cost of producing beef. The meat goes to feed the hungry through charitable organizations. Shareholders don't get a bite. Just a warm feeling - and a tax receipt for their donation.
Lucy Martin spoke with Wendall Joyce and his wife Maude Roy about their project - and creating links that help rural and urban dwellers alike. more
