Community Supported Agriculture

If any type of share offered here is marked “Not Currently Available,” please use the form provided on the product page to add yourself to our waitlist for next season!

The subsidized csa

a collective effort towards food justice

Subsidized CSAs use local agriculture to build food security and strengthen community. Iron Ox Farm works with Nourishing the North Shore’s Farm SHARE program to provide subsidized Iron Ox Farm CSA shares each season.* The Farm SHARE program enables an increase in equitable food access to low/moderate income families on the North Shore.

About the Farm SHARE program

The Farm SHARE program increases equitable access to fresh and healthy produce on the North Shore by directly connecting low to moderate income members of the community with their local CSA. Through partnership with area farms and generous community support, this program enables long-term, reliable and dignified access to local food. In 2020, its pilot year, NNS placed 25 families into the CSAs of five participating farms for 40 consecutive weeks of produce distribution.

About Nourishing the North Shore

Nourishing the North Shore (NNS) is a non-profit organization based in Newburyport, MA working throughout the North Shore’s vibrant community food system. Their mission is to ensure equal access to healthy, local food for all members of the North Shore in a manner that builds community, fosters connection, and promotes dignity and self-reliance.

Since 2015, NNS’s systems-thinking approach to food security has:

  • Distributed over 150,000 pounds of local produce to food insecure populations.

  • Developed income-neutral opportunities for community members to grow their own food.

  • Created the subsidized CSA FarmShare program in partnership with small, local farmers.

*Please note that Iron Ox Farm also accepts SNAP/HIP at our seasonal farmstand!

What is a CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture is a business model that fosters a strong relationship between the CSA Shareholders and the Farmers. Each Shareholder invests in a "share" in the beginning of the season. This provides the Farmers with up front capital for the purchase of seeds, soil amendments and tools. The investments of Shareholders financially enables the Farmer to grow and distribute vegetables throughout the season. When you become a shareholder in a CSA you share in both the risk and reward inherent to growing vegetables.