Community Supported Agriculture Toolkit

Ecology Action Centre

Spring 2011
Table of Contents

Introduction

What is Community Supported Agriculture?

Where to find information about CSAs in Atlantic Canada

Food Storage Guide

Nutritional Information for Commonly Grown Vegetables

Local Food and Farming Facts

Food Holidays and Events

Additional Resources

(Please note: Our Eating By the Seasons cookbook, available in hardcopy or on CD, is available for $10 (plus shipping). Recipes may be reprinted in newsletters. Please credit the Ecology Action Centre.)

Introduction

The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement is growing in Nova Scotia and across Canada. We, at the Ecology Action Committee, are dedicated to the local food movement and would like to support the growth of CSAs. To support this goal, we are working to raise the profile of CSAs by raising awareness through our public presentations, blog, other social media, and by helping to connecting interested consumers with CSA farmers. Additionally, we have developed this toolkit based on discussions with CSA farmers in the Maritimes.

This toolkit is designed to provide CSA farmers with a resource from which to draw information for their newsletters and communications. As farmers are often writing their newsletters and fielding consumer questions at the busiest times in the season, and because many CSA farmers are providing similar information, we created this guide as a resource that can be used by all.

We are committed to updating the toolkit on a regular basis. If there is information that you would like to see in this toolkit, please let us know.

-Food Action Committee

Spring 2011

What is Community Supported Agriculture?

There are many definitions of Community Supported Agriculture. We have compiled definitions from a number of sources that can be adapted to a definition which you feel best suits your model.

Community-supported agriculture, also known as Community Shared Agriculture, is an alternative food network and socio-economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farming operation where the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production. CSAs usually consist of a system of weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables and fruit, which sometimes includes dairy products and meat.

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Definition: Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a food production and distribution system that directly connects farmers and consumers. Consumers buy "shares" in a farm's harvest in advance.

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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a farming system set up to benefit both farmers and consumers. In a CSA, a farmer will offer “shares” or "subscriptions" of the farm for sale to members of the community. A CSA does not have to be dedicated certified organic, but many CSAs are organic. For organic farmers in particular, a good CSA system allows for low-cost marketing and may help guarantee a decent percentage of seasonal sales.

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A relationship of mutual support and commitment between local farmers and community members who pay the farmer an annual membership fee to cover the production costs of the farm. In turn, members receive a weekly share of the harvest during the local growing season.

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In basic terms, CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Members or shareholders of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land. Members also share in risks, including poor harvest due to unfavorable weather or pests.

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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): a farm that is funded by a group of community members. Members pay an annual or quarterly fee in exchange for a weekly assortment of farm fresh produce or other farm products. Many CSAs are year round, but in the foothills, most provide produce from spring through fall. CSA helps local farmers increase cash flow and diversifies risk over multiple crops.

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Where to find information about CSAs in Atlantic Canada

The Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network (ACORN) maintains a directory of CSA operations in Atlantic Canada. This database can be found online at The directory includes not only CSA operations, but also other food businesses that use the CSA model. For example, in Nova Scotia there’s a fishery, bakery, and prepared food model delivery service all using the CSA model. ACORN also has a handbook that profiles Atlantic Canadian CSA models, which is offered in French and English: or

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Food Storage Guide

Produce / First Steps / Best Way to Store / How Long it Keeps / Additional Tips
Apples / Sort apples by size, as the larger apples don’t store quite as long as smaller ones. / In perforated plastic bags to allow aeration. Can be stored anywhere cool, such as basement or fridge (but don’t let freeze). / A month-up to 5 months depending on the variety and storage conditions. / Don’t mix apple varieties, as they ripen at different rates. Leave stems on. Try not to store apples on top of each other, as they can bruise.
Asparagus / Refrigerator / 3-5 days / Don’t trim until ready to eat.
Beets / Don’t wash before storing. Cut off the majority of the greens before storing so that they don’t take moisture away from the root. / Refrigerator: Wrap tightly in plastic bags, squeeze out the air.
Root Cellar: pack in damp sawdust or sand. / Refrigerator: up to 3 weeks
Root Cellar: 4-6 months / If you choose to eat/store the beet greens, make sure they look healthy and are brightly coloured. Store in plastic bags with the air taken out for up to four days in the refrigerator.
Bell Peppers / Refrigerator / Up to a week / Wrap after cutting. Cut off any brown/dry parts.
Berries / Refrigerator / A few days-a week, depending on when picked / Berries are often picked almost fully ripe, so must be eaten quickly.
Broccoli / Refrigerator / 4-7 days / If discolouration occurs, cut off those areas, keep the rest.
Brussels Sprouts / Refrigerator / 2-4 weeks / If starts to dry or brown, cut off those areas.
Cabbage / Trim off any loose outer leaves. If using a storing method other than refrigerator, try wrapping individually in newspaper, layering in straw, or placing several inches apart on a shelf so that it has sufficient ventilation. / Refrigerator
Root Cellar (or other cool, dry, ventilated storage) / Refrigerated: 2-4 weeks
Root Cellar: up to four months / Try not to store near other fruits/vegetables, as they could absorb the cabbage odour.
Carrots / Remove all but the last two inches of the carrot greens before storing. / Refrigerator – tightly sealed in plastic bag
Root Cellar – put carrots in containers, pack containers with straw, or surround with moist sand or sawdust. / Refrigerated: up to 3 months
Root Cellar: up to 7 to 9 months
Cauliflower / Refrigerator / 2-4 weeks / If starts to dry or brown, cut off those areas
Celery / Before storing in the refrigerator, wash thoroughly and trim the leafy ends of the top and 1-2 inches off the base. Wrap in paper towel, and place in plastic bag to keep fresh. / Refrigerator, in the crisper / Up to a few weeks
Corn / Keep corn in husk until just before use. / Refrigerator / Eat within 2-3 days for best flavour / Leave in husk until eating
Garlic / Don’t peel the garlic before storing / Store in garlic pot or uncovered container in cool area, but not in fridge / Up to 3 months
Grapes / Refrigerator / 10-12 days in fridge, 5-7 on counter / Leave on the stem until ready to eat.
Green Beans / Store in crisper of refrigerator / Up to a week / Don’t wash or trim ends until ready to use.
Herbs / Wash, and loosely wrap in paper towel. Place bundle inside air-tight plastic bag. / Store in crisper of refrigerator / Up to a week and a half
Leafy Greens (Spinach, Kale, Collards, Chards) / Take off any ties/bands, and put in breathable vegetable bags in refrigerator / 5-7 days / Some leaves may go bad—discard these and use the rest.
Leeks / Store in vegetable crisper in the refrigerator / 5-14 days / Be careful in regards to what your put in the same crisper, as leeks do give off a smell that may be absorbed by other produce.
Melons (all) / Refrigerate as soon as ripe / Should be eaten as soon as ripe / Be sure to wash cantaloupe before eating.
Mushrooms / Store in a brown paper bag (plastic bags can cause them to go mushy) in the refrigerator / About a week / Mushrooms dehydrate if left for too long. As long as no mold has grown, you may attempt to rehydrate them.
Onions / Way to store onions for long period: take a pair of clean pantyhose, drop an onion down to the foot. Tie a knot. Drop another onion in, and repeat process. Can also just store in mesh bag. / Store in dry, cool area. If using pantyhose/bag, hang. Cut slit to remove individual onions when ready. / Up to several months. / Don’t store near fruits/vegetables, as they may take on the taste of the onion.
Parsnips / Trim the greens down to 1-2 inches / Refrigerator: Tight plastic bag
Root Cellar: In containers surrounded by straw or damp sand/sawdust / Refrigerator: up to 2 months
Root Cellar: up to 6 months
Pears / Ripen a few days on the counter / If eating soon, leave on the counter, if storing, put in the refrigerator after ripening / About a month / If starts to brown, consider making a sauce–cut it up and add water and sugar to it on the stove.
Potatoes / Set aside any potatoes that are getting close to sprouting/soft, so that they can be used first / Store in cardboard box/ paper (with holes) or mesh bag to allow ventilation. Store in a dark, dry, cool spot / Weeks-months depending / Don’t store too close to other produce or they might absorb the flavour of the potatoes.
Radishes / Trim the greens to near the root if they’re still on the radish. Don’t wash radishes. / Refrigerator: Wrap in moist paper towels and place in a plastic bag. Put in the crisper.
Root Cellar: Bury in sand / Refrigerator: around a week
Root Cellar: Up to a month / If the greens are fresh, you can wash and use them in salads, etc. Can be stored in plastic bag in the fridge for around three days. If the radish roots dry out somewhat, you can try giving them an ice water bath for a few hours to rehydrate them.
Rhubarb / If there are still leaves on the plant, cut and discard (they are not edible). / Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator / Up to a week.
Snap Peas / Store in crisper in refrigerator / Up to a week
Sprouts / Leave open to air, do not seal / 3-5 days
Summer Squash / Refrigerator / 4-7 days / If discolouration occurs due to over-ripening, cut off those areas.
Tomatoes / Store on counter, open to air, do not wrap unless cut. / 3-5 days / If they start to get mushy or old, make a tomato sauce!
Turnips / Refrigerator: in plastic bag, place in the crisper
Root Cellar: store covered in sawdust or other packing material / Refrigerator: several weeks-two months
Root Cellar: about four months / You can eat turnip greens if they’re fresh and not wilted. You can also store them in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Winter Squash (butternut, buttercup, acorn, spaghetti) / A cool, dry area, such as garage, basement, unheated room. Make sure to leave room between them for ventilation. / 3-6 months, depending on variety and how mature it was when picked
You can also keep refrigerated cut pieces for up to 5 days.

Note: Store fruits in a separate crisper or shelf from vegetables, as fruits produce more ethylene gas, which can cause vegetables to spoil more quickly if stored together.

Sources:

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Nutritional Information for Commonly Grown Vegetables

This document contains nutritional information for vegetables commonly grown in Nova Scotia, as well as fun facts about each.

See attached Excel File.

Local Food and Farming Facts

(From the July 2010 report Is Nova Scotia Eating Local?)

How far does our food travel?

  • The National Nutritious Food Basket is a list of foods that reflects the eating habits of Canadians, and meets their nutritional needs according to the Canada Food Guide. The average distance traveled by an item in the food basket from its origin to Halifax, NS is 3,976 km. This distance does not include farm inputs or additional kilometres for warehousing or shopping trips.
  • The average distance food travels to get to our store shelves has risen significantly in recent years as our grocery stores source more products from an increasingly global food system. One study showed that the average number of kilometers embodied in the food we eat – which includes transport of inputs like feed and machinery to farms, from farms to processors, and on through to wholesalers and stores – is an astounding 8,240 km (Weber & Matthews, 2008). This does not include the extra kilometers food travels when we make shopping trips to those grocery stores.

How does this affect your roads?

  • Almost all the damage done to asphalt pavements is from heavy trucks.
  • Single-unit trucks and combination trucks impose the same amount of roadway damage as 9,600 cars.

How much money do we spend on food?

  • In 1969, Canadians spent an average of 19% of household expenditures on food, and now we spend an average of 10%. We spend a lower proportion of total household expenditure on food than people in many other countries, including the USA and Australia.

How much of our food dollar goes back to local farmers?

  • At the provincial level, we know that in 2008 at most, 13% of the food dollar is being earned by Nova Scotia farmers (Figure 1). Over the last 11 years, this proportion has gone down. In 1997 it was 17%.

How does agriculture contribute to the economy of Nova Scotia?

  • Total annual employment including direct, indirect, and induced employment from farming activity: 10,281 full time equivalent jobs (2004 estimate) (Estimate in 2004$, Roberts et al 2005.)

What are the social benefits of buying local?

  • Buying locally-produced food, especially in a way that provides a fair price to producers, generates social benefits in this province. These social benefits include nutritious food, entrepreneurial energy, work ethic, mentorship, mutual reliance, relationship-based economic activity, and maintenance of farming communities. Buying imported food generates none of these benefits.

In addition to eating locally and seasonally, how else can we reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the food system?

  • Reduce the consumption of junk food with empty calories;
  • Where possible, replace the use of synthetic fertilizer, particularly nitrogen fertilizer, with local sources of nitrogen such as cover crops and animal manures;
  • Reduce dependence on refrigeration and freezing because they are very energy-intensive in the food system. These are particularly important for long-distance food transport. Low-energy alternative food storage and preservation methods can be used in a local food system;
  • Reduce food waste because it accounts for one quarter of all food sold; and

Fruit & Vegetable Facts

  • We are eating fewer vegetables and fruit than we used to, and need to for optimum health. According to recent Statistics Canada figures, “less than one-third (29%) of Nova Scotians over age 12 eat the recommended 5-10 servings of fruit and vegetables every day. This compares to 35% nationally” (Healthy Eating Action Group 2005: 21).
  • Nova Scotia farmers produce a wide variety of fruit. We are historically best known for apples, and we still export apples out of province. We produce nearly twice our consumption of fresh and processed apples. Yet, we import about 50% of the apples we eat. The weighted average distance traveled by apples imported from out of province is 7,443 km. This is a prime example of redundant trade. We are importing apples, as we are simultaneously exporting them.
  • In addition to redundant trade in apples, we eat a lot of fruit that isn’t grown here. Besides apples, the top fruits eaten are bananas, melons, and oranges. Although we produce some melons in Nova Scotia, we don’t produce any bananas or oranges. We are well known for producing blueberries, but we also produce raspberries, strawberries, plums, pears, and peaches. There seems to be a tradition of picking and preserving strawberries when they are in season (by freezing or making jam). It is a social event. This tradition could be reclaimed for our other northern fruits. Buying directly at U-picks can provide a day out on the farm, reasonably priced fruit, and a freezer full of local fruit for smoothies all year. With such an array of locally-produced fruit available, especially in the summer and fall, it is a shame to pass it up for imported fruits all the time.

Beef Facts

  • Nova Scotians are eating roughly 90-99% imported beef from feedlots.
  • Local beef production has great potential for improving soil quality and revitalizing rural communities.
  • We have underutilized land and capacity that could be used for beef production.
  • If we produced all the beef we eat in this province, farm cash receipts could increase from $22.5 million to at least $90 million/year and full-year equivalent employment would increase from 448 jobs to about 1,774 jobs.
  • On average, beef imported to Nova Scotia creates 1.14 kg of CO2-equivalent emissions per kg of beef imported, just for the transportation. The full cost estimate of this unnecessary transportation is $30 million per year.
  • Grass-fed beef meat is a healthy food: Beef cattle are fed primarily grasses and clover, which makes the meat low in saturated fat, yet high in omega-3 fatty acids, beta carotene/vitamin A, vitamin E, folic acid and antioxidants.
  • Animal stress is lower where livestock are grazing compared with feedlot conditions. Ruminants – cud-chewing animals such as cattle, dairy cows, goats, bison, and sheep – are designed to eat fibrous grasses, plants, and shrubs—not starchy, low-fiber grain.

Lamb Facts