Expanding Our Understanding of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Examination of Member Satisfaction

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an alternative approach to food production that seeks to bring together producers and consumers of organically grown produce. Using data collected from surveys that were completed by 204 members of 5 mid-Atlantic CSAs during the 2000 growing season, eleven hypotheses relating to member satisfaction are tested. Results show that membership satisfaction is positively correlated with the support of alternative agricultural practices, the number of times members visit their respective CSA, the number of years a member has belonged to that CSA, and the likelihood of a person's share meeting his/her produce needs. According to these data, being vegetarian, female, older, and/or a working member are additional predictors of CSA member satisfaction.