The current food system operates on an unprecedented global scale.  The average morsel of food traverses some 1300 miles between the field and the American table where it is consumed.  Economic, social, and environmental costs result from this disjunction between the locus of production and consumption.

Local food systems are promoted as a remedy to the ecological and social damages associated with globalized food.  One form of a local food system is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).  For a set price, consumers share both a yearâs crop and the inherent risks of agriculture.  Shareholders join for a variety of reasons, including the desire for fresh and healthy produce, to protect land, and to support a local farmer.

These idealistic motivations may be challenged by the reality of what membership in a CSA entails: loss of control over food brought into the household.  Shareholders must incorporate novel items into their diets and plan meals with unpredicted amounts of familiar foods.  This challenge is one reason why shareholder retention rates typically are low.  Shareholders who are motivated to join a CSA by social and environmental concerns are those most likely to stay committed to it.  This study of a new CSA located in Central Ohio illustrates these points.

Keywords: community supported agriculture, local food systems, food consumption patterns, environmental and social responsibility