A CSA Model to bring Locally Grown Foods to the Corporate Workplace, Inner City Households and Schools Utilizing a Supermarket Infrastructur

Locally grown foods account for less than one percent of the total $900 billion in retail food sales in the U.S. (18) Therefore, consumers purchase more than ninety percent of their food from supermarkets. In order for local small family farms to grab a greater portion of food sales, they must get their locally grown foods on the mainstream supermarket shelves, as well as partner with stores to get foods to consumers in nontraditional ways, such as cCSAs. The food system plays a central role in the health of Kansas Citians. It dictates access, quality, affordability, and the nutritional value of the food we consume. The state of our health is inextricably related to the quality of our food system. Unfortunately, healthy, nutritious, accessible and affordable food eludes many people, which, in turn, undermines health. Gaps include hunger and food insecurity, lack of fair prices for farmers, lack of fresh local food in schools and institutional setting, lack of full service grocery stores in inner city food deserts, lack of knowledge on what food is nutritious, and lack of knowledge on how to prepare nutritious meals. Various organizations attempt to fill these gaps, and many alleviate suffering in the short run, but they lack the coordinated, broad-based structure and sufficient expertise and funds to provide comprehensive, ongoing solutions. GNFF has already successfully established an effective model to distribute locally grown foods from small family farms into mainstream supermarkets. Now they'd like to take that one step further, by providing the same service to Kansas City's inner city food deserts through a permutation of the CSA concept referred to as the `New Collaborative CSA' (cCSA). The cCSA will be developed as collaboration between Good Natured Family Farm Alliance, Balls Food Stores, Hallmark Cards, inner city community churches and Bistro Kids Farm 2 School Program. Each partner will provide an essential part to the cCSA, to aid those vulnerable populations in the inner city food deserts with access to local farm fresh food. In summary, the partnership between GNFF, Balls Food Stores, Hallmark Cards, an inner city community church, and Bistro Kids Farm 2 School program will: a) increase sales and revenue for GNFF farmers by giving them access to a new market of consumers, b) increase sales and revenue for Balls Food Stores by giving them access to a new market of consumers, and c) provide healthy, farm fresh, locally grown food to vulnerable populations in Kansas City's food deserts.