Waters was worried about the vulnerable situation her workers and producers were finding themselves in. She rushed to establish a subscription CSA, which stands for community supported agriculture, offering weekly food boxes that could be picked up at the shuttered restaurant, filled with goodies from her regular producers like Cannard.
This CSA model, where buyers invest in a farm’s annual production upfront in exchange for a regular share of the harvest, is built on long-term relationships between farmers and consumers. It’s those relationships, farmers say, springing from the fertile soil of Sonoma County, that are making survival possible. New local grassroots networks and nimbler digital marketplaces, too, are popping up to provide critical lifelines. And despite the strange, isolating atmosphere created by the coronavirus, the region is now bursting with spring growth.
For farms with existing CSAs, Wiig says, this is a really good time. “In the beginning of March, most CSAs were struggling to fill boxes. Now some now have waiting lists, some in the 100s.”
But for those who didn’t have CSAs established, Wiig says, this is a really tough time. “We’ve been able to keep farm markets open as essential businesses, but crowds have decreased with people afraid to go out, and sales are down.”
Michael Dimock is president of Roots of Change, a nonprofit organization that advocates for transforming California’s food system. To get serious about preparing the food system for future disasters, Dimock says, the government needs to be involved. Roots of Change is now advocating for a tax on sugary beverages to help foot the bill.
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