CSA Network UK - Community Supported Agriculture

16/12/2024

FarmED in Chipping Norton is running a course aimed at people who want to set up their own CSA. It will take place over two days, February 11-12th and will feature contributions from the Kitchen Garden People CSA team, Emma Mills and Dan Betterton, as well as visits to two different market gardens

https://www.farm-ed.co.uk/event-details.asp?calid=87

13/12/2024

Our first masterclass of 2025 is on 15th January, 10-12 💥

CSAs are full of possibilities and different directions you can take with limited time and resources. How do you prioritise the most important activities and avoid getting distracted?

Whether you’re a group or two people, new CSAs often have different notions of what they want to achieve. And worse, they can have conflicting ideas of how to do it.

How do you make decisions and keep everyone pulling in the same direction?

CSA Network UK Coordinator Suzy Russell and Hannah Lamb of will give you tools, ideas, and inspiration to help you steer a clear path to achieve your CSA project goal.

There are just 12 places available on this webinar.

Members £10, Non-Members £12

We also offer support and guidance at the end of a phone or via email, mentoring with experienced CSA farmers, and a series of resources, which can be found here.

13/12/2024

Great to see Community Supported Agriculture and specifically our network included in this Wicked Leeks article helping people join the dots between producers & their plate.

"Where you buy your produce is one of the biggest factors in sustainable sourcing.

Buying through a box scheme can be a great way to buy local, seasonal and organically produced produce. However, it’s worth doing some investigating into the box scheme and how it operates, as buying a veg box doesn’t automatically mean your veg is locally produced or seasonal.

With some smaller growers, a majority or all of the produce is usually grown on the farm you buy your box from. Many only run from (approx.) June – November when they can be self sufficient in vegetables, others supplement by buying in from other growers or wholesalers for produce they don’t grow or do not have enough of.

Some of these farms operate as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) projects, and the CSA Network website has a map of these farms. Rather than buying a box each week, you (usually) commit to a season with the farm (which may then be paid for weekly or monthly). "

As part of our ongoing series, seeking to help people join the dots between producers & their plate, Steph Wetherell explores the best ways to get better fruit &

10/12/2024

Our Masterclasses are back! 💚

Our mission is to have a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) scheme in every neighbourhood in the UK.

That's only going to happen with accessible inspiration, training and knowledge.

Starting January 15th, every other Wednesday, we're running six sessions on:

🌱 First steps in your new CSA - pacing, prioritising and visioning
🌱 Crop planning, year-round growing and hungry gap ideas
🌱 Business planning and finance
🌱 Land, insurance, people management and governance
🌱 Engaging and maintaining members and marketing your CSA
🌱 Scaling up: machinery, site design, irrigation and tools

10.00-12.00 GMT

https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/csa-network-uk-training-programme/

05/12/2024

Well done, Cae Felin CSA ! 🥳 Congratulations on your awards for Sustainability in Healthcare and Innovative Development of Green Space! 🎉

"Cae Felin Community Supported Agriculture, near Morriston Hospital, has been recognised for transforming over seven acres of land owned by Swansea Bay University Health Board.

The project, which has created new employment for people within the community, has transformed the land with help from volunteers - including health board staff."

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/south-wales-evening-post/20241126/281530821576366

27/11/2024

Join us on the flower field for 2025! We are looking for a seasonal flower grower to join our team. This is an ideal role for someone with some experience who is looking to further develop their skills.

We can offer:
- work on a well-developed flower field within a beautifully diverse market garden.
- optional accommodation. The farm is part of a cluster of thriving rural businesses, only a little over an hour from Edinburgh and Glasgow.
- work with a friendly team of growers and florists
- shared lunches using produce from the farm
- Real Living Wage
- possibilities to develop your skills in floristry as well as horticulture.

Full details are linked in our bio, or you can email [email protected]

15/11/2024

Pitch Up! is on its last push with a November 30th deadline for applications.

Over 12,000 acres of land area is available from Cornwall to Scotland via Pitch Up! - a growing national farming movement that matches sustainable and regenerative farms offering land, raw materials, investment and expertise with like-minded businesses and start-ups, including CSAs.

The aim is to create a circular community that feeds each other – where someone’s waste is another person’s key resource.

The Pitch Up! scheme now includes six farms and is open to businesses at all stages of their journey.

Find out more and download the Applications Guidance at pitchupandgrow.com – and follow on Instagram

15/11/2024

This young livestock farmer has got in touch with their availability. Anyone hiring for a suitable position? If so, let us know and we'll put you in touch

15/11/2024

“The event will mostly have an urban audience, with people coming to hear the work of the poets,” he said. “But I hope it will provide an opportunity for awareness and education to people who might not know so much about what farmers deal with day to day.

“It’s a different thing trying to talk to urban audiences on the cost of what might be seen as cheaper food, rising prices, and the changes that have happened in farming over the years.

“It will be very much an event on ‘did you know this?’. For example, [there is] the cost of harvest and some of the figures around mental health and social isolation. It will be very much about trying to get people to think ‘how would you feel if this was what your week or your year was like?’.

“It’s about showing there’s human beings, individuals involved in this.”

The event comes as farmers across the country are facing increasing uncertainty in the wake of the UK Government’s Autumn budget changes to tax.

13/11/2024

Irrigation options can be daunting! It's easy for market gardeners to spend money on the wrong kit, which is exactly what we want to help CSA farms avoid. So our irrigation guide, a collaboration between the CSA Network UK, the Organic Growers Alliance Farming The Future and Seed Sovereignty is now available for purchase for £7 including postage from our website: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/product/irrigation-guide/

07/11/2024

We've recently contributed to a report on Community Models for Farm Ownership in collaboration with Stir to Action, Shared Assets and The Ecological Land Co-op.

Together we carefully examined the strengths and weaknesses of current models to begin outlining possible alternatives.

This process started with a focused look at family farm succession - how farmers retire and consider selling their land - and looks at community buyouts, collective enterprise, finance and housing.

You can now read the briefing papers on our website: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/community-models-for-farm-ownership/

25/10/2024

If you're looking for a job in Community Supported Agriculture, a few of our members farms currently have openings:

💚 Cae Tân CSA in the Gower is looking for a project manager
💚 Canalside Community Food CSA in Leamington Spa is looking for a lead grower and manager
💚 Farnham Community Farm , well, in Farnham, is looking for a grower
💚 Chagfood , just off Dartmoor, is looking for an assistant grower
💚 Knockfarrel Produce in Dingwall, Scotland, is looking for a Horticultural worker

Please share with anyone you think might be interest and comment if you're a CSA farm with a vacancy!

24/10/2024

08/10/2024

It's National Young Farmers Week! A celebration of all things National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs . Today's focus is the work Young Farmers Clubs do to support careers in agriculture, regardless of background. Head over to their page to see what they're up to this week 👩🏽‍🌾

30/09/2024

We're just back from and it was great to meet so many enthusiastic people who are working so hard to grow healthy food. Thanks to the organizers for a great event!

We got to meet many of our members and had a Community Supported Agriculture meetup to talk about what the future of the CSA model could be via a fun game facilitated by our network coordinator, Suzy Russell.

As sponsors, we also had a couple of talks. One by Jo Hunt of Knockfarrell Produce on the economics of CSA and another by Dan Burston of and Andy Dibben on crop planning for uncertain times.

It was also a chance for the team and board members to meet in person, and let our hair down!

Along with lots of CSA info, we also ran badge making on our stall and asked folks to add a song to our "pack shed playlist" which we'll put together on Spotify soon.

We could do with a few more songs, though. Any lively ones to share? 🎵

25/09/2024

So far our members' survey giveaway has one entrant! It's pretty quick and you have a decent chance of winning a £50 Chelsea Green voucher (and helping us out a ton!). Dig out your September members' newsletter - it hit on your inbox on Sept 20th - and it's the first item! 🏃🏽‍♀️

18/09/2024

Thanks for summing up Community Supported Agriculture so well, ! Looking for your local CSA? Have a look on your website or comment here and we'll link you up.

PS: Our members newsletter goes out tomorrow so it's a particularly good time to join the network if you haven't yet. Our general newsletter goes out at the end of the month too 💚💌

Farms: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/csa-farm-membership-2/
Supporters: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/csa-network-uk-supporter/

PPS: If you're considering starting a CSA for your farm, we still have spaces on our online course, Grow Your Own CSA, starting Oct 1st: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/GYOCSA/