Thinking about signing up for a CSA but want to learn more about the idea before you commit? For basic information, please view the following embedded video. For detailed information, including a history of the CSA movement, keep reading.

What is the Inland Empire CSA? from Diego Media LLC on Vimeo.

Over the last 27 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer.

Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included.

Consumers purchase a share and in return receive a container of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

It's a simple enough idea, but its impact has been profound. Tens of thousands of families have joined CSAs, and in some areas of the country there is more demand than there are CSA farms to fill it.

The government does not track CSAs, so there is no official count of how many CSAs there are in the USA. Local Harvest has the most comprehensive directory of CSA farms, with over 2,500 listed in thier grassroots database.