CSA Network UK - Community Supported Agriculture

21/04/2025

We're running free online information sessions all about Community Supported Agriculture THIS WEEK for growers and community organisers in the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

Come ask all your questions to consider whether CSA is right for your farm or agricultural project. We'll help you get started and work out your next steps.

Book at https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/csa-information-sessions-for-the-highlands-and-islands/

📷 Andy Buchanan at

03/04/2025

Meanwood Valley Urban Farm in Leeds is looking for a head grower to manage their small market team. The deadline for applications is this Sunday!

🌱 We are looking for a Head Grower to oversee the running of our 1-acre Market Garden. It’s a hub of sustainable community food growing, feeding 130 households through its’ year-round CSA scheme and hosting 2 volunteer days every week. We are looking for an individual who can hit the ground running and provide leadership and support to the market garden staff and volunteers.

To find out more about the role and access the application forms please head to our website :)

28/03/2025

We want to see farms growing and raising good food for their local communities thrive. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an important model for making that happen, putting farmers and local people directly in touch with each other.

We’ve received funding from The Pebble Trust to grow the CSA movement in the Highlands and Islands in Scotland, and we’re kicking off our support with two information sessions.

If you’re a farmer committed to agroecological practices or a community organiser who wants to create local access to food farmed without harmful chemicals and practices, come along to learn all about CSA!

These FREE online sessions run on Tuesday 22nd April, 6.30pm-8pm and Thursday 24th April, 9.30-11am. Email [email protected] to book your place.

Please share! We want to make sure that as many people as possible get to take advantage of this opportunity 🥦

19/03/2025

18/03/2025

It's Food Waste Action Week! If you're a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm selling vegetables, this is the ideal time to tell your members how they can reduce their food waste when sourcing food through a CSA.

Take the opportunity to give tips on:

🥕 Scrubbing instead of peeling
🥕 How to store veg to get the most out of it
🥕 How to use up the veg box
🥕 Which vegetables to keep the skin on
🥕 Composting instead of binning

What's your farm doing for Food Waste Action Week?

18/03/2025

We're pleased to support Sustainable Kirriemuir through our incubator scheme as they grow their brilliant farm project

14/03/2025

Small farmers need our support more than ever but people eating the food also benefit from buying from them directly.

These are just seven of the reasons to source your food through a Community Supported Agriculture farm (CSA).

Which is your favourite? Can you think of any more? 💚

13/03/2025

☀️ We're hiring! ☀️

We've opened up an exciting new role as part of a funded project that sums to pilot a range of place-based experimental approaches to increase the local engagement of Community Supported Agriculture farms.

The CSA Network UK is looking for a part-time team-member to work on a project to explore how to enhance engagement with CSAs in West Yorkshire.

The West Yorkshire Development Worker will work closely with the Network Coordinator and project allies in West Yorkshire with the aim of:

Amplifying the local resilience of Community Supported Agriculture

Exploring experimental place-based approaches to engagement in food and farming

Building replicable food-based circular economies

The worker will join the CSA Network UK team that currently consists of the Network Coordinator (NC), Policy and Projects Manager (PPM) and Communications and Events Manager (CEM) who work across the UK and are home-based.

Hours: 20 hours per week

Salary: £31,858 pa (pro rata)

Location: Home-based

Supervised by: The CSA Network Coordinator

This post is grant-funded for 24 months by the JJ Charitable Trust

Read the job description in our link for more information

📷 Swillington Farm taken by Andy Lord

13/03/2025

We are disappointed that the UK government has stopped the Sustainable Farming Initiative in England with no notice and with no consultation with the farming sector.

This was their flagship environmental scheme, so where does it leave agroecological, sustainable farming?

The starting from 5-hectares limit was only dropped in the last 12 months, leaving many smaller farms like 's farm, Yorkshire Edible Flowers, in the lurch as they were only just at the point of putting in an application.

For our farms, this is absolutely the time financial support is needed. The hungry gap months have just begun, where there is little to harvest, and farmers are still reeling from last year’s climate-related events.

Our network coordinator, Suzy Russell comments: “Especially considering their recent commitment to increase spending on war, it’s frustrating that the government isn’t prioritising food and welfare. We can’t eat bombs.”

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says that the money for the scheme has run out but there’s no transparency about how that money was spent. And crucially, there was no warning.

SFI had its flaws but it was ultimately a positive move post-Brexit. Having promised to support sustainable farming, this government has pulled the rug from under farmers. This is an attack on farming.

11/03/2025

Last call for tomorrow's masterclass! We have a few spots left. Come learn about how to tell your story and communicate what you're offering your local community to make direct sales.

And more than that, we'll talk about how to connect with people who believe in what you're doing and want to support local people growing food sustainably.

Charlotte Barry from Camel Community Supported Agriculture (Camel CSA) (and the CSA Network board) and Adele Jarrett-Kerr from Soul Farm (and the Network staff) will discuss what works in this interactive and practical session.

Book here: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/csa-network-uk-masterclasses/

24/02/2025

Last call for this week's masterclass! Join us for an online webinar this Wednesday (26th February) to talk about the awkward stuff you need to put in place before starting your CSA.

What insurance coverage will you need? What is the best legal structure for the business? Who is going to be in charge, and how are you going to organise day-to-day tasks?

This CSA Masterclass attempts to get you off to a good start with the help of Chris Morrison of GO Local CSA and Wilf Richards of Abundant Earth. They're teaming up to give you some guidelines and answer your questions.

There are just 7 places left. Members £10, Non-Members £12.
Book here: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/csa-network-uk-masterclasses/

📷 Andy Buchanan, featuring East Neuk Market Garden

24/02/2025

Calling all seedsavers, farmer and farmworker groups, researchers, medical ethicists, GMO groups, environmentalists of all kinds, wildlife groups, and health and wellness workers!

Biotechnology is inherently problematic due to its abundance of off-target effects and unexpected consequences, which we've seen in the creation of insect-resistant crops and herbicide-tolerant GM crops. We're at a crucial point to call for regulation and open debate!

Please sign this statement being circulated to gather signatures from civil society groups (particularly farmworkers and environmentalists) in response to a conference that's taking place this week on the future of biotechnology.

Read here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j8IfswDV9ZpY8FkXwnd7ekcSALyQggvOay9zZZg1mz4/edit?tab=t.0

And sign here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1fAntA0osYCOBQuHi5L1vGQAonbQHyJUWaSTJicQa3L0/viewform?edit_requested=true

Individuals can sign too. The deadline is Wednesday 26th!

To record signatories to the Asilomar critical statement Feb 2025

21/02/2025

It's Community Supported Agriculture Day tomorrow! If you're involved in a CSA, it's easy to think that everyone knows what it's all about.

But a lot of people don't know that buying directly from their local nature friendly farmers is possible or that they can commit through a scheme to help those producers to plan ahead.

And for a lot of farmers, CSA is vital not only so they can sustainably manage their finances but so that they don't have to face the pressures of being the change in the food system alone.

The work we at the CSA Network UK are doing is vital in connecting CSA farmers, offering training, mentoring and resources, and lobbying on behalf of agroecological farmers.

Please share this post to raise awareness of the CSA model and consider supporting the work we do by donating to our crowdfunder: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/community-supported-agriculture-uk

18/02/2025

Community Supported Agriculture makes it into today's episode of Escape to the Country via CSA Network UK member farm, Wellington Community Food! Tune in to BBC One at 15:00!

11/02/2025

Last call for tomorrow's masterclass! On Wednesday 12th February, 10am-12noon GMT we're running a two-hour webinar on Business Planning and Finance.

Tickets are £10 for members and £12 for non-members.

For your CSA to be a success, you need to know what that looks like and the steps needed to get there. What equipment and infrastructure do you need? How much do you need to produce?

What wages and contractor’s fees will you budget for? Will shares be collected or delivered? Will you have additional sources of income? What if something goes wrong? Like any other business, a CSA needs a plan.

Gareth Davies of Canalside and Five Acre CSAs and Ed Hamer of Chagfood CSA are instrumental in running three well-established and successful CSAs. They will give you the guidance you need to start planning these fundamental aspects for the long-term viability and thrive-ability of your CSA.

Book your place for tomorrow: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/first-steps-in-your-new-csa/

Check out the rest of the masterclass series: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/csa-network-uk-masterclasses/

We have upcoming sessions on:

☀️ Land, insurance, people, management and governance
☀️ Engaging and maintaining members, and marketing your CSA
☀️ Scaling up: Machinery, site design, irrigation and tools

Please share with anyone you think might be interested!

04/02/2025

"Being able to experience a CSA model firsthand, I was struck by the genuine bond between the farmers, their land, and the entire production process — a dedication that goes well beyond profits. This holistic relationship helps tailor production to community needs, minimizes waste, and promotes more resilient local food systems.

CSA is a simple yet transformative approach: consumers invest upfront in local farming by funding specific crops, and in return receive a share of fresh, seasonal produce throughout the harvest period. This model not only strengthens community ties but also provides farmers with the financial stability needed to manage production and reduce reliance on costly loans."

This is a reflection from one of the MA students at the Institute of Development Studies. They recently visited Fork and Dig It, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project and farmers’ incubator located in Stanmer Park in Brighton.

These connections between education and agroecological work on the ground are so vital. Is this something that could work in your area or with your project?

Food is a cross-cutting development issue that concerns hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition, environment sustainability and power.

27/01/2025

We've got used to the convenience of supermarkets. It's so easy to walk down an aisle and fill a basket without thinking about where the produce has come from, whether it's in season, what the farmers were paid and how much it cost the earth.

Realistically, many of us don't have the time to agonise over each of these points. But we may be in a position to make a small switch by subscribing to a local farm's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership.

CSA allows you to buy food directly from your local farmer, securing their livelihood and making you part of much needed economic, social and ecological change.

Your food box might require a bit more planning but it makes a huge difference.

At the CSA Network UK we support farms that want to engage their local communities this way. We're currently crowdfunding to expand the work we do and grow the CSA movement across the UK: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/community-supported-agriculture-uk

Please join us by donating whatever you can. We also have some great rewards on offer! And please SHARE this post across your networks.

24/01/2025

We have FOUR spaces left on next week's masterclass webinar on Weds 29th Jan at 19-12. The topic is "Crop planning, year round growing and hungry gap ideas" and the session is taught by Becca Steveson & Connie Hunter.

One of the trickier aspects of growing food is making sure that you have a constant supply. When your business relies on supplying a consistent amount and quality of fruit and vegetables weekly, year-round, you can have a problem.

The webinar is £12 for non-members / £10 for members: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/csa-network-uk-masterclasses/

Or you can get all six webinars (you'll be sent a recording of the first session) for a discounted price through our Crowdfunder:
https://crowdfunder.co.uk/community-supported-agriculture-uk