Partnerships connect consumers with farmers and fresh produce

Published: 2004-05-05

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (CNS) -- For most farmers, their work is an impersonal process because their produce will ultimately be consumed in some unpredictable form, in some place they may never imagine and by someone they have never met. Consumers have no connection to the farmers and rarely know if the farmer was paid a just wage or used environmentally friendly farming methods. But in a few instances -- perhaps only a half-dozen in central Minnesota -- the farmers have a personal relationship with those who consume the produce of their small, family-run farms. These farmers and consumers not only know each other by name, but are partners in a concept called community-supported agriculture. "Not enough people pay attention to how the earth is treated," said Diane Hansen of St. Cloud, who annually becomes a partner with the owners of the Webster Farm Organics, a small operation near Foreston.

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