CSA members help support the farmer by paying for their produce upfront before the harvest season begins. This helps to offset the costs that the farmer incurs while preparing for the upcoming season such as purchasing seeds and supplies as well as the labor involved in getting the crops in the ground long before any cash will be coming in from the harvesting. The produce farmer typically works from the first of March to the middle of May without any income from his/her efforts.
There are 3 "adjustments" which people must make when joining a CSA, all of which could be called "lack of choice."
First is the difficult concept of seasonality. This is the "real world" of the local grower, where things happen at certain times of the season, if they happen at all. This is not the supermarket, to which we are all accustomed, where one can get anything one wants whenever one wants it.
Second, in a CSA, people can have input into what crops are grown or not grown, but since there are many people involved in this process, one's less favorite crops might still appear. To some extent establishing "trade agreements" with other members who have opposite tastes can offset this. In organic food production it is extremely important to diversify and grow as many different crops as is feasible, in order to provide microclimates and havens for beneficial insect populations. This diversity will keep to a minimum, if possible, the build-up of undesirable insects and diseases which could be even more devastating in a "mono-cropping" system. I try to listen to my partners, and incorporate their suggestions, if feasible, in my planning for the next growing season.
As someone once explained it: "If you grow nothing but one crop, it's like putting up a giant sign for the bugs that reads: 'Eat here!'"
So I grow a large variety of crops throughout the spring, summer, and autumn.
Third, some crops grow better some years than others. Some crops grow better organically than others. Some crops grow better for me than others. I try to grow a wide enough variety of fruits and vegetables so that something is always available. This simply means that your favorite crop might not do as well as one you're less excited about.
