Farms across Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties offer Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, shares.

CSA shares allow residents to pay up front to receive through the season regular allotments of a farm’s products, whether that’s fruit and vegetables, meat, fiber goods, or anything else they might grow or produce.

We talked to some local farmers who offer CSAs about why they do it, and why the programs help consumers and the farms.

What’s it like being part of a Community Supported Agriculture program?

Jill Agnew, co-owner, Willow Pond Farm, Sabattus: “Looking back at where we once were, it’s very rewarding. We were one of the first farms in Maine to introduce the CSA model, and seeing these other farms and people benefitting from a simple idea to help put more food on tables is just amazing. I don’t know how else to say it.”

Janelle Plummer, owner, New Spoke Farm, West Paris: “It’s fun! It’s definitely the place to be if you’re looking for local fruits and vegetables going from farm to table.

“But it isn’t easy, to say the least, as it has its ups and downs. Last year we had this crazy amazing tomato season where people were taking seven to 10 pounds of tomatoes, but struggled to have salad mix. It can be a gamble. I feel like it’s worth it when you see what you get.”

Annette Cochran, owner, No View Farm, Inn & Bakery, Rumford: “It’s a really interesting program and I’ve enjoyed being part of it for as long as I could remember. We tried to find out what works and what doesn’t, which has led me to develop the “shopping cart method” to have people pick out specifically what they want. I want to make sure people get exactly what they want and not throw things away. Everything I give my customers matters to me.”

Have you seen growth through CSAs?

Plummer: “We have! We typically have anywhere from 100 to 115 households as part of our CSA program. We’re about 70% of the way this year. It’s been consistent in terms of sign-ups but this year it’s been a bit slower than the past few years but we’ll probably see more people signing up when it becomes warmer.”

Joshua Levesque, Levesque’s Organic Farm, Leeds: “In our first year, we only had eight people, but once people learned we had a CSA program, we saw and continue to see a 10% to 20% increase in applications every season.”

Agnew: “Last year we had 134 people involved and over the years the numbers have grown and shrunk depending on what help we can find. In the end, everyone benefits: the farmer benefits from a secured market and the customer benefits knowing they have a farm they’re getting produce from that’s committed to growing for them every year.”

Cochran: “It’s always up and down depending on the season and help. When I first started, I was at five households and have been as high as 45, but now I’m down to 25. That’s not a bad thing, all things considered, but I plan to boost it up because I have more help this year than in the past. I just had someone who purchased a share that has never been to the farm and just moved to the area, but saw on our website about the CSA program. It goes to show what the program means to the community.”

What does this program mean to you?

Plummer: “It means the absolute world. CSAs are the ‘little engine’ of our farm. It’s what really drives us us every season. It provides us with the much needed capital for us to cover our operating expenses, seed, fertilizer, everything to get the season going. And we’ll try to meet and even exceed the value of what people pay every week of the CSA share week.”

Levesque: “For us, it’s a way to help our customers and our community make a dollar go a little bit further. It’s a service and an opportunity to the community to let them know we want to help them get the best and freshest fruits and vegetables possible.”

Agnew: “It’s critical to our farm. It’s half our farm’s enterprise. It’s our heart and soul. The whole commitment in the very beginning was to provide food to the community. We were asking the community to support us, and they went above and beyond what I ever expected happening. They’ve become friends, people I see every week, just an integral part of my life.”

What does it mean to have the community support you by taking part in this program?

Levesque: “It makes us proud. It’s a show of trust from the customers’ point of view. They’re handing out money without any idea, just like we don’t have any idea what the season’s going to bring. But they’re trusting in us that we’ll provide the quality produce they’re looking for. That is just amazing they’re willing to do that for us.”

Plummer: “It just shows what a community truly is. This program has created a program that is more important to me than you’ll ever know. It feels more like a neighbor and a friend when we have people celebrating us and going through what the season brings, both good and bad. I’ve had people tell me that CSAs are more than a grocery subscription; it’s like feeding a part of their soul.”

Cochran: “The community means everything to me. A lot of my CSAs are long-term members and feel like family. A lot of them know that they can show up at the farm with no idea what they want and I’ll go and pick it for them. The same goes for if I deliver. They know I’ll pick it that day and it goes straight to their home. You can’t get it much fresher than that. You can’t go to the grocery store and get it that fresh, and my members know that and appreciate everything I do for them. It doesn’t get better than that.”

Do you have any expectations for this year for CSA program members?

Agnew: “I do, but people may not like it. There’s a certain level of intuitiveness for doing this a long time and that’s led me to cut my shareholder base in half this year and focus on building the soil. I feel like we’ll run into a drought early this year because it’s been so dry this year and we haven’t had enough liquid come down to sustain us for the spring and summer. We need to be careful this summer.”

Cochran: “I’m looking to open my cafe, since I didn’t get to open it last year because I broke both my heels. I plan to do some demonstrations for cooking, hosting workshops for people to attend, and they can put it on their CSA. They get to benefit where I can teach them all this stuff, whether it be making pickles or making sauerkraut and use it for their personal use.”