community-supported agriculture (csa) participant demographics and experiences 2012
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COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE (CSA)Participant demographics and experiences 2012
What is the CSA?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs allow consumers to buy produce directly from local farmers
Consumers commit to buying a specific amount of produce throughout the growing season, traditionally paying upfront for the full season
EBNHC and LGM partnered with Farmer Dave’s CSA in Dracut
History of the CSA at LGM
Began with 10 households in 2008 Originally fully subsidized by EBNHC and
contributions from other CSA members 2012 saw expansion of program
(average of 38 households per week, vs 15 in 2011)
Starting in 2012 participants were responsible for paying for shares Weekly payment option SNAP/EBT option
2012 Participation
50 total participants 16 enrolled online and paid upfront; 34 paid
weekly Average of 38 households received produce
each week Focus on weekly payers
Remove barrier of high one-time cost Able to pay with cash, check or SNAP/EBT Some individuals shared boxes Additional subsidy for LGM households
2012 Participation
Community (11) 33%
EBNHC staff (11) 32% *
LGM participants, (12) 35%
* 6 of 11 EBNHC staff worked directly for Let’s Get Movin’
2012 Participation
30 people purchased 24 Small Vegetable shares 20 individuals purchased a full share 3 pairs of participants shared Small
Vegetable boxes 1 group of four shared a Small Vegetable
box 2 participants purchased Large
Vegetable shares 8 participants purchased Fruit shares
6 had also purchased small vegetable shares
2 only purchased fruit shares
Payment methods
24 participants paid weekly with cash/check (71%)
8 participants used EBT weekly (24%) 2 participants used a mix of EBT and
cash (6%)
EBT use was similar among all groups 33% of LGM participants used EBT or
EBT/cash 27% of EBNHC employees used EBT 27% of unaffiliated community members
used EBT
Length of Participation
Participants were allowed to enroll after the first week
Participants had the option to discontinue at any point
one
two
thre
efo
ur five six
seve
neig
htnin
ete
n
eleve
n
twelv
e
thirt
een
four
teen
fifte
en
sixte
en
seve
ntee
n
eight
een
ninet
een
twen
ty0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Total Weeks Participated in CSA: Weekly Payers Only
Number of Weeks
Nu
mb
er o
f P
eop
le
Length of Participation
one to five six to ten eleven to fifteen sixteen to twenty0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
11
3 3
17
Weeks Participated in CSA: Weekly Payers Only (n=34)
Number of Weeks Participated
Nu
mb
er o
f P
eop
le
Length of Participation – by group
LGM EBNHC Community0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11-20 weeks
10 weeks or less
# o
f P
art
icip
ants
82%
18%
36%
64%58%
42%
Differences not statistically significant at 5% level of significance; X2=4.693, df=2, p=0.096
Length of Participation – by payment type
Cash/check EBT or mix of EBT/cash0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
11-20 weeks
10 weeks or less
# o
f P
art
icip
ants
58%
42%
60%
40%
Follow-up Survey
Sent to all participants in January 2013 Follow-up phone calls 2+ weeks after
mailing Incentive - $25 gift card drawing Overall response rate: 76%
Response rate for 11-20 week participants: 89%
Response rate for 1-10 week participants: 57%
Follow-up Survey – Demographics
Table 1: Demographic characteristics of participants who participated for 11-20 weeks vs participants who stopped after 1-10 weeks
2-tailed t-tests for continuous variables2-proportion z-tests for dichotomous variables
Follow-up Survey – Reasons for Joining
1) Freshness/quality of produce (11)
2) Health/nutrition (6)
3) Education (5)
4) Support local agriculture (3)
5) Convenience (2)
6) Cost (2)
Organic?
Follow-up Survey – Benefits of Participating
1) Improve your diet – 100%1) Support local farms – 100%3) Try new foods– 82%4) Better tasting food – 77%5) Less time shopping for food – 59%6) Cook more meals at home – 53%7) Reduce food costs – 41%7) Eat less fast food – 41%9) Introduce my children to new foods – 29%
Follow-up Survey – Primary Benefit
1) Improve your diet – 29%2) Try new foods – 24%3) Support local farms – 18%4) Better tasting food – 6%4) Less time shopping for food – 6%4) Cook more meals at home – 6%4) Reduce food costs – 6%4) Eat less fast food – 6%
Follow-up Survey – Effect on diet
Decrease Decrease Slightly
No Change Increase Slightly Increase0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
# o
f R
espondents
During the months that you were receiving the CSA, did the amount of vegetables you and your family ate:
Follow-up Survey – Effect on diet
During the months that you were receiving the CSA, did the variety of vegetables you and your family ate:
Decrease Decrease Slightly
No Change Increase Slightly Increase0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
# o
f R
espondents
Follow-up Survey – Effect on diet
During the months that you were receiving the CSA, did the amount of money you spent on food:
Decrease Decrease Slightly
No Change Increase Slightly
Increase0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
# o
f R
espondents
Follow-up Survey – Participant Satisfaction
How happy were you with the cost of the program?
Very Unsatisfied Unsatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
# o
f R
espondents
Follow-up Survey – Participant Satisfaction
How happy were you with the quality of the produce?
Very Unsatisfied Unsatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied0
2
4
6
8
10
12
# o
f R
espondents
Follow-up Survey – Participant Satisfaction
How happy were you with the variety of the produce?
Very Unsatisfied Unsatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
# o
f R
espondents
*Siempre habia las mismas tipas de frutas con muy poca variedad
*
Follow-up Survey – Participant Satisfaction
How happy were you with the convenience of pickup?
Very Unsatis-fied
Unsatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
# o
f R
espondents
Follow-up Survey – Participant Satisfaction
Did you feel that the amount of produce you received each week was:
Too Much Just Right Too Little0
2
4
6
8
10
12
# o
f R
espondents
Follow-up Survey – Reasons for Stopping
1) Not enough value for the money – 63%2) Too expensive – 50%3) Too much food/had to throw some away – 38%3) Didn’t like types of produce – 38%5) Didn’t know how to cook some vegetables – 25%5) Prefer to get produce somewhere else – 25%
Not chosen: Inconvenient pickup times/location, didn’t like quality/freshness of produce, transportation issues, scheduling issues, no place to store produce at home
Follow-up Survey – Reasons for Stopping
“I have very little money because I don’t have much work. And it seemed to me very little variety and quantity”
“Cost and the amount of produce. It didn’t seem like you’re getting enough for what you paid”
“When I heard about the program, I thought it was a program for low income families like mine. To me it seemed very expensive and it provided very few fruits and vegetables”
Follow-up Survey – Suggestion from Participants
“I calculated the price that I paid in comparison to shopping at Market Basket, and it came out more expensive”
“Too many unfamiliar vegetables”
“I prefer to make my own choices at the supermarket”
“I would rather be able to pick and choose what I want rather than have it picked for me”
Participant Satisfaction: 1-10 week participants
How happy were you with the cost of the program?
Very Unsatis-fied
Unsatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
# o
f R
espondents
Participant Satisfaction: 1-10 week participants
How happy were you with the quality of the produce?
Very Unsatis-fied
Unsatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
# o
f R
espondents
Participant Satisfaction: 1-10 week participants
How happy were you with the variety of the produce?
Very Unsatis-fied
Unsatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
# o
f R
espondents
Participant Satisfaction: 1-10 week participants
How happy were you with the convenience of pickup?
Very Unsatisfied Unsatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied0
1
2
3
4
5
6
# o
f R
espondents
Participant Satisfaction: 1-10 week participants
Did you feel that the amount of produce you received each week was:
Too Much Just Right Too Little0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
# o
f R
espondents
Participant Satisfaction: Cross-group comparison
Table 2: Rates of dissatisfaction with various aspects of the CSA program: A comparison of participants who participated for 11-20 weeks vs participants who stopped after 1-10 weeks
Planning for the Future
Do you plan to participate in the CSA again this coming year?
Yes No Maybe0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
# o
f R
espondents
Planning for the Future
If you do participate, would you be interested in free monthly cooking classes that focus on using foods found in the CSA boxes?
Yes No Maybe0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
# o
f R
espondents
Planning for the Future
Data Collection-New survey questions incorporated into 2013 application
-Will quantify F&V servings both for applicant and for children
-Will quantify current household food expenditures
-Questions will be repeated at end of CSA season
Follow-up Survey – Suggestion from Participants
- More variety- Less unfamiliar vegetables- Instructions/information about
unfamiliar items- Option to choose your own items- Option to buy 1 box with both F&V- Option to buy 1 box every other
week- Home delivery
Follow-up Survey – My suggestions
1) More information about unfamiliar items- Cooking classes, recipes, labels, etc
2) Consider adding option to choose some items- Some of Farmer Dave’s pickup sites
currently offer “choose your own” model
3) Additional financial support for very low income families?4) Consider limiting program to families with children
- Only 8/17 participants who completed 11-20weeks reported having children in household
CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions
Both the garden and CSA program are serving populations that are demographically representative of the East Boston community
Both the garden and CSA program are primarily serving families with low income/at risk for food insecurity
The great majority of participants in both programs reported an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption
Conclusions
Nearly all garden participants reported a decrease in food expenditures; a sizable minority of CSA participants reported a decrease in food costs
Demographic characteristics were not significantly associated with participants’ decision to continue or stop participating in the CSA
Dissatisfaction with the cost of the program and/or the variety of produce were significantly higher in participants who dropped out of the CSA early
THANKS!