CSA Member Retention Strategies

Jon Clark, Martin Lenihan, and Kathy Brasier

Penn State Cooperative Extension & Dept. of Ag Econ & Rural Sociology

Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Veggie Growers Conference

January 31, 2006, in Hershey, PA

Knowing who your members are, why they join, and what they think about the CSA experience will help you develop effective strategies for retaining members

CSA Farm Viability

Business Visionand Plan

Marketing Plan

Profit from Products

Attract New Members

Retain Current Members

UnderstandMembers

Use (and Evaluate) Retention Strategies

Who Joins CSAs?• National profile of CSA members:

– White, College educated, Middle class– Majority in 30-49 age group– Women, especially those working less

than full time – Low income persons tend to be ‘in

transition’

• What is the profile of your membership?

• Why is this important to know?– Might influence the products you offer,

drop-off options, membership options, events, communication

Why Join a CSA?Reason ‘Very

Important’

Desire for fresh produce 76%

Desire for locally grown produce 75%

Desire to support a local farmer or farm 74%

Desire for organic produce 72%

General concern for environment 62%

Concern for farm preservation 58%

Knowing where/how your food was grown 53%

Health/dietary reasons 42%

Desire for sense of community 26%

Desire to try new foods 8%

Convenience 4%

Less expensive food 4%

Opportunity to work on a farm 3%(Source: Oberholtzer 2004:23)

Why Members Join• Top reasons are value-based

– Individual values (health, environment)

– Values about community they want to live in

• Where is ‘Community’ in CSA?– Feeling sense of community ranks

low, particularly among men– Idea of community attractive, but

actual development of community less important in retaining membership

Why Leave their CSA?Reason %

Selected

Pick-up site problems or farm inconvenient 18%

Share not worth the cost 15%

Moving or would be away for summer 15%

Moving to another CSA 10%

Difficulties cooking/eating produce 8%

Pick-up times were inconvenient 8%

Prefer to shop at local market/food cooperative 8%

Personal financial situation 7%

Not enough variety in the share, or share contents not consistent with needs of the household

7%

Not enough produce during the season 5%

Household will grow its own food 5%

Future participation contingent on the ability to continue to split shares with others or purchase half shares

5%(Source: Oberholtzer 2004:29)

Why Leave a CSA?• Pick-up site convenience• Value for money• Contents of weekly share

– Variety (too much, too little)– Quantity (too much, too little) – Unfamiliar products

• Learning curve high

Why Return to a CSA?• Satisfaction with quality,

quantity, variety, price, pick-up arrangements

• Previous experience with a CSA• CSA share makes up higher

proportion of veggie purchases• Had less waste of produce• Changed eating habits because

of CSA

Lessons • Learn about your membership

– Reasons for joining, staying, leaving– Evaluation of experience– Use of produce– Effect of CSA membership on their

habits and attitudes– Importance of community to them– Effectiveness of communication and

education strategies• Match retention strategies to

these needs and experiences • Evaluate your strategies

How Can I Learn About My Members?

• Create ‘core group’ for advice, feedback, planning

• Create opportunities for feedback (during season, end of season)– Talk to members at pick-up– ‘Comment Tree’ (paper, web, email)– Discussion groups – Email listserves– Surveys (email, web, paper)

• Learn why members don’t renew

Member Issues Strategies • Build on existing commitment

– Stress quality, freshness, locally-produced products

– Environmental benefits, health concerns

– Use existing members’ knowledge

• Dissatisfaction with produce quality, freshness– Explain reason; address if possible– Work with neighboring farms to

supplement

Member Issues Strategies• Concern over diversity; unfamiliarity

with produce; lack of choice– Communicate and educate!– Share recipes; explain health benefits; give

history of particular varieties– Provide weekly suggestions for cooking,

storing, preserving, and composting– Suggest additional resources (cookbooks,

websites)– Provide schedule of produce – Provide selection options (choice, ‘yuck-

yum’ box)– Provide u-pick opportunities– Provide some pre-processing of products,

or offer processed foods

Member Issues Strategies• Concern over quantity

– Suggest sharing with friends– Provide information about storing,

preserving, composting– Provide donation opportunities– Offer half shares, or connect

members who could split share• Concern over lack of community

– On-farm events (tours, festivals, potlucks, harvest days)

– Provide regular farm information/updates

– Provide working share options– Develop core group to plan events

Member Issues Strategies• Concern of inconvenience

– Learn your members’ limitations and preferences

– Provide multiple options for pick-up/drop-off

– Work with advisory/core group to develop network for drop-off

• Concern of cost– Provide share price breakdown– Offer payment options (working

share, installments)– Provide opportunities for donated

shares

Member Issues Strategies• Explain contract, expectations• Diversify membership

– Subsidize shares– Accept vouchers and food stamps– Allow/seek organizations to be

members (churches, nonprofits, etc.)

• Join networks of other farmers and community members– Share resources, ideas, strategies– Become part of local networks to

educate consumers, attract potential members

Resources• PSU Farm Business website:

http://FarmBusiness.psu.edu• Robyn Van En Center for CSA

resources: http://www.csacenter.org

• Univ. of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agriculture Systems: http://www.cias.wisc.edu