farmer direct coffee.

With the increased focus on local organic foods, Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSAs) are becoming more and more prevalent. They allow consumers to purchase local in-season food directly from the farmer, thus creating a relationship where consumers participate in ownership of the farm by owning a share of the crop. CSAs are revolutionary because they are changing the way that we think about food, increasing knowledge of farm practices and eating in-season while supporting the small farmers that can often get crushed or pressured by the bigger corporate entities.

I was so excited to learn about Coffee CSA- which connects coffee consumers directly to the hard-working families that farm coffee in countries like Guatemala and Ethiopia. For being such a prevalent and necessary commodity in our daily lives (coming from a full-fledged addict), we have such a small connection to the process of how coffee goes from farm to mug. It is climate dependent, and therefore cannot be grown locally. Being participatory consumers of a foreign good, I think its really important to be knowledgeable of what these farmers face. Buying fair trade is one example of supporting fair practices. Participating in a CSA is definitely a next step.

Through Coffee CSA, you can pick a farmer to buy directly from and support the financial stability of that farm. The farmers get a fair price and you get a delicious cup of joe. Win-win. Read more by visiting Coffee CSA (also check out this New York Times article on it).