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Community-supported agriculture: Finding a niche
By C.F. MARLEY
Correspondent
GODFREY - Even though the church long has supported family farm agriculture, many Catholics have virtually no knowledge of this. Now, however, with families in general in a
fight for survival against the pressures of huge monopolies, many farm families, both Catholic and non-Catholic, are searching for an answer to the injustice of their problems. They are seeking a means to their
continued independent way of farm life.
While there are no easy answers, some farm families are looking to collective bargaining. Others have begun to fight back with so-called "niche production" of
various commodities. This is a small but growing movement. It can have numerous variations, but three of the more popular ones that experts say are working are pastured poultry, direct marketing of beef and pork,
and community-supported agriculture (CSA). None of this, proponents say, is to suggest that we quit trying to solve the major dilemma of family agriculture.
In Illinois, Father Maurice Lange of the Missionary
Oblates of Mary Immaculate, is a proponent of CSA. One of the goals of Father Maurice and the Oblates is to inaugurate a CSA project, which will operate from the grounds of the Oblate Novitiate in Godfrey. The CSA
will be located on just a few of the novitiate's 255 acres situated on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.
How does a CSA work? Often it is initiated by a willing grower of produce. The farmer
agrees to provide a weekly supply of fresh garden products to subscribers over an entire growing season for an acceptable up-front payment. In the case of the Oblates, they have initiated the CSA with the help of
interested laity and are now actively searching for a committed farmer.
Father Maurice, 39, a native of San Antonio, Texas, spent much time on the family ranch while growing up. He says he sensed that humans
are alienated from the Earth and said people need a better grasp of how God intends humans and nature to be mutually enhancing.
Father Maurice said he gladly accepted the opportunity for a two-year internship
extended by Sister Miriam MacGillis of Genesis Farm in Blairstown, N. J. Genesis Farm, begun by the Dominican Sisters, includes both an ecological learning center and a community-supported garden that feeds 200
families.
Father Maurice said he has also learned from the work of the Maryknoll Community in New York. They have put together a comprehensive videotape entitled The Global Banquet, which portrays many
national and international aspects of the farm problem. The video examines the role of some international corporations in using federal subsidies to beat down prices paid to American farmers, as well as the use of
cheap raw grain to destroy the markets and the independence of small farmers in foreign countries.
Back at Godrey, the Oblates are putting into practice the priority of justice, peace and integrity of
creation by helping initiate a community supported garden. Thirty-four families have recently committed with a down payment becoming shareholders for the CSA's first season in 2003. This project will re-introduce
locally grown, seasonal and organic produce to folks of all income levels who by their participation in the project will be creating both a local economy and enhanced sense of community.
For more information on community supported agriculture, visit www.csacenter.org. The Global Banquet video can be ordered from the Maryknoll at 1(800)227-8523. Photos of the CSA in Godfrey can be seen at www.lavistacsa.org. Father Maurice can be reached at the Oblate Ecological Initiative, at (618) 466-5004.
C.F. Marley, Nokomis, is a former editor for, and a director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, Des Moines, Iowa.
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