Robyn Van En: The First Lady Of Community Supported Agriculture

Robyn Van En of Indian Line Farm and Jan VanderTuin started the first United States-based CSA program in southwestern Massachusetts in 1985. They started the program by selling 30 shares of the local farm harvest before the start of the season, and calling it the Community Supported Agriculture project. Van En found inspiration to start the CSA from the development of similar programs in Japan and Western Europe. She emphasises the ways in which CSAs cultivate a more local food system by facilitating a closer relationship between farmers and their local communities. According to Van En, CSAs should be embedded in every community, including prisons and other large institutions. Photo Credit: Clemens Kalischer