Over the last decade, we have witnessed the proliferation of farmers' markets in this country. The number of markets nation wide increased more than 7 percent in 2006 alone and has more than doubled in the last 10 years.

Right here in Maine, a renewed commitment to eating local foods is evident through the annual increase in sales at the farmers' markets across the state. It seems that the time is right for Mainers to take their commitment to local seasonal food to the next level with community supported agriculture (CSA).

With over 100 farms and 4000 shares and counting, Maine's CSA community is just beginning to show its potential for transforming relationships with food and farms. There is no formula to a CSA. Each is unique as the community supporting it. The bottom line is that people make commitments to farms, and in return farmers make commitments to produce for their members the freshest, most flavorful, highest quality food possible.

View CSA Information by Maine County

Download the Maine CSA Directory  (1.3 MB PDF)

Or contact author Melissa White
MOFGA's Organic Marketing Coordinator
melissa@mofga.org
207-568-4142

• Community Supported Agriculture in Michigan(CSA-MI)/The Community Farm Newsletter - www.csafarms.org  Publish a quarterly newsletter about CSA, host a biennial CSA conference, publish a CSA Training Manual.
• Robyn Van En Center for Community Supported Agriculture - www.csacenter.org  A national resource center for CSA.  Maintains a national database of CSA's.
• Farm & Garden www.farm-garden.com/csafarmer  An online magazine and community website that posts a monthly column on CSA topics.
• Local Harvest - www.localharvest.org/csa/  Organic and local food website.  Maintains a nationwide directory of small farms, farmers markets, CSA's and other local food sources.
  
• Just Food - www.justfood.org  Links local farmers and city groups, and provides technical assistance to start CSA's in New York City.
  
• Madison Area Community Supported Agricultural Coalition (MACSAC) - www.macsac.org  Coordinate a low income share subsidy program, publish From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm Fresh Seasonal Produce, developing a New Growers CSA Toolkit.
  
• USDA's Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC) - www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml  Provides links to information, articles & research on the topic of Community Supported Agriculture.
  

• CSA Training Manual from CSA-MI
• Community Supported Agriculture: Variations on the Theme
• Growing a CSA from scratch:  creating community and improving your farm's bottom line
  
• Eight tips from the experts to make your CSA project a success
• Creating a Market: get started in community supported agriculture
• Farms, churches link up through local agriculture
• Managing a CSA Farm 1: production, labor and land
• Managing a CSA Farm 2:  community, economics, marketing and training
• The History of Community Supported Agriculture