What is it all about?

Support of local, sustainable agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an alternative social and economic arrangement to conventional industrial food production. CSAs have multiplied around the world since their beginning a few decades ago. Through CSAs, the community makes a bold statement in support of local, sustainable agriculture, and the farmers receive a sense of security in their careers. 'Shares' of the harvest are equally distributed among the community.

Closer connection to food

This method spreads the economic risk of farming during the season among all invested members. The community gains a greater sense of responsibility and a closer connection to their food source, while the farmers receive support for the quality of life they deserve.

How it works

 In the PCCSA members sign up for a share (either seasonal or year-long), and then pick up their produce once a week. Because the PCCSA is a cooperative CSA, meaning that we get our food from more than one farm, we are able to support several farmers around the state and in turn provide a variety of produce throughout the year. Depending on the season, this includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, and honey, as well as the option to buy eggs, meat, and occasionally bread and dairy.

Local, direct, and fair

• Locally Grown; All of the food in the PCCSA comes from within 100 miles, and most within 40 miles, of Prescott. In contrast, food in the grocery store has traveled an average of 1,500 miles before reaching the eater.
• Direct Marketing; Through buying the produce directly from the farmers, our shareholders are paying less than retail prices for the freshest produce possible, and the farmers are making well over wholesale. Farmers selling through grocery chains, on the other hand, receive an average of 6 to 8 percent of the price consumers pay for packaged and processed goods.
• Conservation and Stewardship; The increased income received through direct marketing can go into cover crops, improving the life span of the soil, or simply enable the farmers to employ the labor necessary to grow crops organically.