Nebraska is a largely agricultural state where farm sales rank in the top four nationally. However, when Nebraskans sit down to supper, most probably don’t know where their food comes from or how it was raised. Lincoln residents Ruth Chantry and Evrett Lunquist are trying to change that through a concept called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
From May to early November, Chantry and Lunquist grow a variety of vegetables for the Equinox CSA’s members. Members join by buying shares in the CSA, which entitles them to a weekly "share" box of whatever is being harvested from the garden. Each box of produce, which provides vegetables for a family of four, is harvested and delivered the same day to insure freshness. Common items like potatoes and lettuce are mixed with more exotic kale, kohlrabi, and bok choi. The boxes are brought to a central delivery point for distribution to the shareholders.
"I see us jointly exploring and developing sustainable approaches of raising life-nourishing food," says Lunquist, who has experience working with CSA in Minnesota. The idea of CSA contrasts with the present conventional system where long distances and complex marketing arrangements separate the consumer from the producer. CSA aims to reclaim that link between the farmer and the consumer, the rural and the urban. As these links are restored, the resulting community equally shares the risks and benefits of growing food. In a drought, the consumer supports the farmer when production is reduced, and in good years both share the bounty. It is "agri-culture" rather than "agri-business," says Lunquist.
In 1997, Equinox CSA offered thirty shares to local consumers. Twenty-four shares were purchased and thirty will again be offered in 1998. Since the produce is grown locally, the shareholders can be involved in the actual gardening if they want. Two annual gatherings are held during the summer, along with several field days where members help plant tomatoes, squash, and garlic and weed the gardens. Shareholder Nancy Forst Williamson sees the CSA as an "economic approach to food that makes sense."
Sustaining the land is just as important as feeding people in CSA. At Equinox, produce is raised biodynamically, a production system that uses natural fertilizers and pest control. The biggest challenge in the garden, according to Lunquist, is improving the soil quality. The soil quality is not yet where they want it, which creates problems with productivity, plant health, and pests.
Communication between the shareholders and the growers is important. Chantry and Lunquist work hardat developing that relationship. During the winter they mail brochures to potential and former shareholders. In late April or early May they hold a membership orientation. The logistics of delivering the produce is explained and everyone gets to meet each other. Through these interactions, members begin to understand the challenges involved in growing good food.
"The important thing is to get the information on Equinox CSA to the right people at the right time," says Chantry. Outreach activities, partially funded by the Nebraska Ag IMPACT project, have helped Chantry and Lunquist in this work. Over the summer, the pair presented their CSA to over 200 people at schools, churches, farmers’ markets, civic groups, and field days.
They are still learning public presentation skills and where to best focus their outreach. Unlike conventional farming, the CSA grower cannot be content just to raise good produce and sell it to a wholesale broker. She has to be involved personally with the consumer. But according to Chantry, one of the main rewards of running Equinox CSA is "forming meaningful relationships and making it work." For Lunquist, the rewards come in improving the soil, providing food to people he knows, and providing a local, sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture.
Contacts: Ruth Chantry and Evrett Lunquist, Lincoln, 402-477-0135