CSA providers offer a way to get involved in your local community, receive delicious and fresh produce, and build connections with important farmers and other vendors near you. While many people like the idea of joining the CSA movement, some may wonder what CSA is and how it works. Below, we describe what CSA is, discuss how you and your local community benefit from them, and list several CSA providers near Buckhead, Georgia.
What Is CSA?
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CSA, short for community supported agriculture, is a system in which community members close to a farm or agricultural land support its agricultural operations and share both the risks and the benefits of food production. When they purchase a share of a farm, a CSA program member receives a weekly delivery of fresh farm products. Depending on the type of farm, these products may include such items as fruits, vegetables, or even honey, eggs, and dairy products. You may be able to choose the products that come with your share.
This arrangement differs from something like a farmers market, where you select the exact products you want to buy from a variety of local farmers and vendors. Instead, in a CSA program, you pay the farmer upfront for a share of their harvest, deliveries are prearranged, and your produce is selected for you.
What Are the Benefits of Joining a CSA Program?
There are benefits to joining a CSA program for both the provider and the consumer. Farmers can receive advanced funding for their growing season, secure themselves financially, and get money directly for their crops instead of through sales to grocery stores. Consumers get regular distributions of fresher, high-quality local produce, spend less time shopping, and often try foods they may not have chosen for themselves. Both providers and consumers can enjoy being a part of a locally-sourced and community-supported system.
CSA Providers in the Buckhead, Georgia, Area
Below are several CSA providers in the Buckhead area where you may find the products you want and other activities to support them:
Bread & Butter Farm
Bread & Butter Farm is a CSA provider committed to growing a sustainable and nourishing selection of products. Their CSA model offers a choice of products at an open market pickup, so you can choose what food works best for you while meeting the farm team. Their weekly pickup is scheduled for Tuesday afternoons from April through September, but you can also pick up on Thursday mornings during the summer. They do offer pre-packaged CSA options for alternative day pickups and options for missed weeks. They also extend a sliding scale to pay for their products.
Carlton Farms
Carlton Farms is a farm-goods delivery network composed of a collection of providers with year-round services. They offer products such as raw and pasteurized milk, eggs, pasture-raised meat, organic fruits and vegetables, raw honey, soap, and other natural products. This CSA service doesn’t require a seasonal commitment, and orders can be placed individually or as recurring weekly orders. They deliver to a variety of locations around Buckhead and Atlanta, Georgia, meaning you can find the nearest location to pick up the products you buy each week.
Little Fox Farm
Little Fox Farm is a CSA provider of local, organic produce grown in a bio-diverse environment. Their model uses an availability list, in which Little Fox Farm emails you a list of their weekly available products and prices. In your reply, you make your order and choose your day for pickup on the farm itself. Options are Wednesdays and Fridays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The prices and choices available may change each week, which allows you to only pick what you need.
Love is Love Farm
Love is Love Farm is a worker-owned CSA provider near Mansfield, Georgia, with a vision of creating greater community access to healthy foods. They offer three sessions of CSA: spring, summer/fall, and winter. Each session offers a wide variety of vegetables and fruits. You can purchase either a full share or a half share for each session, allowing different benefits and price levels. You can add on egg shares, meat shares, coffee shares, bread shares, or flower shares. They even accept and double SNAP payments for CSA shares. They offer three pickup locations on Wednesday afternoons or Saturday mornings.
Rise ‘n Shine Farm
Rise ‘n Shine Farm is one of the largest CSA providers in Georgia. They create customizable farm boxes and deliver them to you. This means you get to pick what goes into your box with control over the products and pricing you get. To start, you sign up for a specific-sized box based on how much food you want to get. Then, you customize the box a few days before it ships, wait for delivery to your door, and enjoy your products.
Rise ‘n Shine Farm grows most of their available products but is also in partnership with other local farms to give you a wide variety of ingredients and meals.
Riverview Farms
Riverview Farms is a CSA provider that delivers produce for 30 weeks during the year. From early May to November, you get to enjoy the bountiful produce options the farm offers. They offer weekly, biweekly, and monthly shares, with a variety of delivery options, including your home, a pickup location, or at the farm. Each box contains seven to 12 items of seasonal produce that have just been harvested. You can also order heritage pork, grass-fed beef, and grains to be delivered to your home or a pickup location.
CSA farms and other locations can help you get delicious, nutritious produce, meat, dairy, and other products at an affordable price. They also help you support local farmers and other agriculture experts as they grow food for your local community. With the products from CSA farms, you know exactly what you’re getting and become connected to your community. Did we miss your favorite CSA farm? If so, please contact Crème de la Crème of Buckhead, Georgia, to let us know. We will add it to our list.