CSA’s became popular in the United States in the early eighties. They have since gained much popularity with close to 2000 farms acting as a CSA today. The idea is simple: members pay money for shares of crops grown on a farm. Shares are made up of vegetables, herbs, and fruits generally. Sometimes other products, such as eggs or honey, are offered. Members get the opportunity to have fresh, homegrown food without having to take the time and effort to grow it themselves. But that’s not all, they also get quality, nutritious, and often organic food at an affordable price.

But what if you live in the middle of the city and don’t have the space to plant enough food for the people you want to support with a CSA? Not to worry – just ask Donna Smith and her partner, Robyn Streeter. Both were working on a degree in horticulture, knowing they wanted to start a CSA. They ran into more than a few roadblocks trying to locate enough land to start. Landowners wanted too much money for the properties or there was poor access for customers, and water rights were common problems.

While on Spring Break the year they were to graduate, Donna was driving around Portland, Oregon. Robyn was on vacation in Idaho. Donna, determined to find a way to make their dreams of a CSA a reality, was brainstorming on ways to make it work. “I saw large lots of land everywhere and it came to me that we should have many little farms instead of one big one, bringing the farm to the people,” Donna recalls. “I knew I was on to something so I went home and made a flyer up, and spent the next day taking them around town to all the community boards I could find. By the time I came home I already had phone calls asking about Your Backyard Farmer. I called Robyn in Idaho and asked if she was in and if she was to get home soon. Within two days I had already sold the first one, with appointments for others. Each place I went a contract was signed and money exchanged hands.”

This will be their second year and their goal of 50 farms will easily be achieved. So far, they have done all the work between the two of them. Initially, they set up an agreement between the member and themselves as to what size plot will be planted and what food will be grown. Members choose from a list of vegetables and herbs they want on their mini-farm. Donna and Robyn then set up a time to prepare the farm space as per the agreement and visit on a weekly basis to plant, weed, and harvest. Farm size is determined by the amount of people they are growing for. Some are for single families and others are for groups of neighbors coming together.

“This model of CSA has never been done so it has been a lot of quick learning and shifting of plans to make it all work. It did amazingly. We do everything just like a traditional CSA except we come to them. People are looking for alternatives and it was just about correct timing. Besides, I am very lucky to live in an area where people care about there food source and organics.”

Future plans for Your Backyard Farmer include growing organic herbs for local restaurants as well as consulting new farmers using Your Backyard Farmer as a model. Clearly, this is a very innovative way to bring families closer to what we all want - healthy food in an earth-friendly way. But it is so much more than that … it shows how each and every one of us can make our own dreams come true if we want it bad enough.