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What difference does income make for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members in California? Comparing lower-income and higher-income households

Author

Listed:
  • Ryan E. Galt

    (University of California, Davis)

  • Katharine Bradley

    (SIT/World Learning, Inc.)

  • Libby Christensen

    (Colorado State University)

  • Cindy Fake

    (University of California Cooperative Extension, Nevada County)

  • Kate Munden-Dixon

    (University of California, Davis)

  • Natasha Simpson

    (University of California, Davis)

  • Rachel Surls

    (University of California Cooperative Extension, Los Angeles County)

  • Julia Soelen Kim

    (University of California Cooperative Extension, Marin County)

Abstract

In the U.S. there has been considerable interest in connecting low-income households to alternative food networks like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). To learn more about this possibility we conducted a statewide survey of CSA members in California. A total of 1149 members from 41 CSAs responded. Here we answer the research question: How do CSA members’ (1) socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds, (2) household conditions potentially interfering with membership, and (3) CSA membership experiences vary between lower-income households (LIHHs) and higher-income households (HIHHs)? We divided members into LIHHs (making under $50,000 annually) and HIHHs (making over $50,000 annually). We present comparisons of LIHHs’ and HIHHs’ (1) employment, race/ethnicity, household composition and education, use of food support, and enjoyment of food-related activities; (2) conditions interfering with membership and major life events; and (3) sources of information influencing decision to join, reasons for joining, ratings of importance of and satisfaction with various CSA attributes, gaps between importance of and satisfaction with various CSA attributes, valuing of the share and willingness to pay more, and impacts of membership. We find that LIHHs are committed CSA members, often more so than HIHHs, and that CSA members in California are disproportionately white, but that racial disproportionality decreases as incomes increase. We conclude by considering: (1) the economic risks that LIHHs face in CSA membership, (2) the intersection of economic risks with race/ethnicity and cultural coding in CSA; and (3) the possibilities of increasing participation of LIHH in CSA.

Suggested Citation

  • Ryan E. Galt & Katharine Bradley & Libby Christensen & Cindy Fake & Kate Munden-Dixon & Natasha Simpson & Rachel Surls & Julia Soelen Kim, 2017. "What difference does income make for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members in California? Comparing lower-income and higher-income households," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 435-452, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:34:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10460-016-9724-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-016-9724-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zepeda, Lydia & Li, Jinghan, 2006. "Who Buys Local Food?," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 37(3), pages 1-11, November.
    2. Tegtmeier, Erin & Duffy, Michael, 2005. "Community Supported Agriculture (Csa) in the Midwest United States: A Regional Characterization," Staff General Research Papers Archive 12577, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    3. Jack P. Cooley & Daniel A. Lass, 1998. "Consumer Benefits from Community Supported Agriculture Membership," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 20(1), pages 227-237.
    4. Ryan E. Galt, 2013. "The Moral Economy Is a Double-edged Sword: Explaining Farmers’ Earnings and Self-exploitation in Community-Supported Agriculture," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 89(4), pages 341-365, October.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Gabriel Cumming & Kristin Hunter-Thomson & Talia Young, 2020. "Local food 2.0: How do regional, intermediated, food value chains affect stakeholder learning? A case study of a community-supported fishery (CSF) program," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(1), pages 68-82, March.
    3. Ayari Genevieve Pasquier Merino & Gerardo Torres Salcido & David Sébastien Monachon & Jessica Geraldine Villatoro Hernández, 2022. "Alternative Food Networks, Social Capital, and Public Policy in Mexico City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-25, December.
    4. Julia Gallardo Gomez & Catherine Darrot, 2022. "The role of low-income consumers in food system transitions: case studies of community supported agriculture and social groceries in France," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 103(4), pages 369-392, December.
    5. Antonella Samoggia & Chiara Perazzolo & Piroska Kocsis & Margherita Del Prete, 2019. "Community Supported Agriculture Farmers’ Perceptions of Management Benefits and Drawbacks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-21, June.
    6. Marie Diekmann & Ludwig Theuvsen, 2019. "Value structures determining community supported agriculture: insights from Germany," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 36(4), pages 733-746, December.
    7. William Lacy, 2023. "Local food systems, citizen and public science, empowered communities, and democracy: hopes deserving to live," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 1-17, March.
    8. Christina Gugerell & Takeshi Sato & Christine Hvitsand & Daichi Toriyama & Nobuhiro Suzuki & Marianne Penker, 2021. "Know the Farmer That Feeds You: A Cross-Country Analysis of Spatial-Relational Proximities and the Attractiveness of Community Supported Agriculture," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-20, October.
    9. Punnaros Pisarn & Man-Keun Kim & Shang-Ho Yang, 2020. "A Potential Sustainable Pathway for Community-Supported Agriculture in Taiwan: The Consumer Perspective in a Farmers’ Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-18, October.
    10. Marilyn Sitaker & Jane Kolodinsky & Weiwei Wang & Lisa C. Chase & Julia Van Soelen Kim & Diane Smith & Hans Estrin & Zoe Van Vlaanderen & Lauren Greco, 2020. "Evaluation of Farm Fresh Food Boxes: A Hybrid Alternative Food Network Market Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-25, December.
    11. Felix Zoll & Caitlin K. Kirby & Kathrin Specht & Rosemarie Siebert, 2023. "Exploring member trust in German community-supported agriculture: a multiple regression analysis," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 709-724, June.

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