CSA Box

One of the UBC Farm's midsummer CSA boxes

The UBC Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program provides members of the campus and broader community with a weekly box of fresh, organic produce from the UBC Farm. The CSA program also allows students to learn firsthand about this innovative production and marketing system. CSAs are proving to play a significant role in reviving small-to-mid-scale farming enterprises and in educating people about sustainable food production.

The UBC Farm is not yet taking applications for the 2012 season but please refer to the 2011 CSA Program Details to get a sense of how the program works. Information about next year’s CSA will be posted in spring of 2012.

What is a CSA?

• An alternative food distribution and agricultural business model
• A community of individuals pledges to support the anticipated seasonal costs on a farm, which then becomes part of the community’s legal or symbolic property
• In exchange for buying a “share” in the farm at the beginning of the season, each CSA member:
  • Receives weekly box of the farm’s seasonal bounty
  • Shares the risks of farming, such as the impact of weather and pests
  • Gains a sense of fulfillment from contributing directly to a farm’s financial security and a thriving localized food system

CSA members can opt to have their produce delivered through a student-run bike delivery program

Inspired by the success of other student-driven CSA initiatives at universities such as UC Santa Cruz and Michigan State University, the UBC Farm CSA program provides valuable  experiential learning opportunities for staff, students, and volunteers. The diversity of crops and management strategies used at the UBC Farm provides fertile ground for student and faculty research into low-input and environmentally sound agricultural techniques. The CSA also helps to fulfill the farm’s goal of engaging the wider community in its food production system. Involvement in the CSA program is an opportunity to follow the season in the pacific northwest and to taste a wide variety of fruits and vegetables that are suited to the local climate and growing conditions. You may be surprised by what can be grown here!