HC-CSA - High Country Community Supported Agriculture

High Country CSA is gearing up for our third season!

Maverick Farms has launched the High Country CSA, a community-supported agriculture (CSA) project linking area consumers to several local vegetable farms.

Community Supported Agriculture has blossomed in the United States since its introduction in the 1980’s. Philosophically similar to the Japanese teikei movement of the 1960’s, CSAs are essentially comprised of a commitment between eaters and a local farm or farms. In a CSA, consumers take direct responsibility for supporting their local foodshed by pre-buying produce before the season begins, pitching in work during the season, and then reaping the benefits of the harvest each week as the season progresses.

CSAs offer a positive alternative to the conventional agricultural system in which consumers and farmers are estranged. They benefit farmers by providing a stable market, and reward consumers in turn with fresh, healthy, and organically produced food. The surrounding community also benefits by this addition to the local economy.

Maverick farms opened its first CSA in 2005 with 10 members. By 2008, membership increased to 25, which the farm felt was near its capacity. To meet increasing demand due to community interest in local food, Maverick decided to take 2009 to facilitate a multi-farm CSA. When the North Carolina Rural Center awarded Maverick Farms with a grant to fulfill its mission of “reconnecting local food networks and promoting family farms as a community resource,” the launch of High Country CSA began. Opening in its first year with 50 shares, the 2010 HCCSA membership increased to 78 members in its second season in 2010. The mission of High Country CSA is to become a permanent fixture in the local food system, while holding a membership of 200 shares annually.

Maverick Farms hired Franya Hutchins of Boone to coordinate the High Country CSA project in its first two years. “Choosing local food is one of the best ways to support the health of both your family and the community,” Hutchins states. “Our farmers are committed to growing by organic standards, and CSA members will receive absolutely fresh produce once a week. Our goal as a multi-farm CSA is to make farming viable for locals and the local economy. Having lived in Watauga County all my life, my experiences here as both a daughter and a mother have made creating a strong local economy a great priority to me.” Franya poured many hours of love and work into the High Country CSA and she is succeeded by Gia Straw, former pick-up manager and graduate student studying local food in the High Country through ASU's Appropriate Technology Program. Gia has taken the reins of HC-CSA and has organized winter orders and is looking forward to a productive and delicious summer with the HC-CSA.

For more information regarding HC-CSA summer or winter program
check highcountrycsa.org