And even with food stamps, many shoppers may not be able to afford CSA prices. The Coalition Against Hunger heavily subsidizes shares for low-income members out of its own pocket. Other CSAs use sliding scales, either hiking prices for higher income members or doing independent fundraising to cover low-income members.
Then there's also the ever-tenuous hold that many food stamp recipients have on their government benefits, even in the age of Bloomberg. Lauren Melodia, whose Bed-Stuy Buyers Club has accepted EBT cards since soon after its inception in 2005, says it's been frustrating to see families have to drop out after they've had their food stamp benefits cut off. "We've had some really great members who have lost their food stamps in the middle of the season."
Other obstacles, says Berg, include that "low-income people have less storage space and less refrigerator space," as well as less flexible schedules to do pickups. (Melodia says her group recruits volunteers to do home delivery to members who can't get to the pickup location on time.) And where a well-off CSA member might be able to tolerate the occasional inefficiencies of CSAs--ending up one week with a crate of uneaten leeks, for example--that can be an unaffordable luxury for someone living hand to mouth. "They're a great model," Berg says, "but they're not for everyone."
"Having the ability to accept food stamps isn't really going to change your membership that much," agrees Melodia. One challenge, she says, is that what may be a selling point for higher-income shoppers--making a promise to support a small farmer for a year--may seem like too big a commitment for a family with less resources. "So we've had to adjust our messaging a little bit."
The real need, though, says Melodia, is for more dedicated funding, both for educational and outreach programs and for administrative support. "CSAs have something to offer in their communities that other community food providers don't really have," she says. "But I think the needs of low-income families require more support from a community supported agriculture project than a volunteer group can provide."
