The future is ours. The future is the CSA.

A guest blog by American Agriculture instructor Michelle Week.

I can't begin to pick apart how interconnected food is in our lives. Food is a large part of our cultures, traditions, moments of bonding. Food impacts our health, physical and mental. Food exists outside in the ecosystems impacting and being affected by climate change. Food is social justice, our society withholds it from some and overfeeds others. Food does poorly in a capitalistic society, farmers are underpaid, farmworkers are underpaid, we undervalue food. Food that along with air and water sustains us and all our other endeavors. Food is important.

I was recently told: "No money, no mission." It's the truth within capitalism. Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA's, is one way that the Farm insures its financial well being. Without your early season infusion of cash, I cannot support the mission of this farm. On the farm, we endeavor to offer clean, transparent, local produce to our community. We attempt to educate our community about what it takes to operate a farm, how our food system is shaped, and where we can all come together to build a more equitable, resilient food system through decolonizing and challenging our assumptions of what food is. How our diets impact others in our community, be them human, flora, or fauna.

"With access to a farm, many are dazzled by the bounty and wonders of nature. I love to see grown people awed by the delicate beauty of a carrot seedling." -Robyn Van En

One of the originators of the CSA model in the United States, Robyn Van En founded the first CSA Farm in Massachusetts in 1986 (I am almost as old as CSA’s! DOB 1987!) She traveled the United States and later the world supporting and developing CSA Farms and in support of farmers building sovereignty by feeding their communities. Her joy is my joy, I love welcoming folxs onto the Farm. I love sharing my passion, expertise, and vision with you all.

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Michelle Week is the instructor for American Agriculture, starting February 4. Find out more.

CSA's aren't for everyone, and ultimately I would like to offer a more flexible version for those who'd rather visit me at the Farmer's Market and pick out the foods they eat. I am but one woman, however. So please, stay tuned! Additionally, I am working on being able to accept Food Bucks and EBT (Food Stamps) just as soon as I wade through all the paperwork. I have also talked with the Clark County Food Bank in supporting the formation of a volunteer Glean Team who’ll visit area farms and harvest the extra yummy produce that’s still in the fields but maybe isn’t of quantity enough to justify labor costs to collect it. They’ll help distribute that extra produce amongst those who are experiencing difficulty in accessing good, whole, sustainably grown fresh foods.

When you join a CSA you aren’t just supporting local business, your insuring that Good Rain Farm can feed our community in perpetual. That we save a little slice of agriculture land to grow local foods on. We create a place where growth and education in all forms can flourish, where connection to place becomes tangible. Edible! Today we make decisions that shape tomorrow, that shape the future we wish to be in. I hope you share in my vision of food resiliency, a world where food traditions of all kinds, but especially Native, thrive through living daily acts of necessity and honor.

This blog was adapted slightly from Michelle’s blog at the Good Rain Farm.