Sustainable Food in Action: Community Supported Kitchens

You've heard about Community Supported Agriculture and the success the CSA model has brought to small, sustainable farms. But what about CSKs? Community Supported Kitchens may just be the next best thing since sliced bread and they're starting to crop up all over the place, providing not only a community space for food education, but also serving up lots of delicious, healthy food with the help of CSK members.

As implied by the name, Community Supported Kitchens aren't all that different from the CSA model used by small farms. In some sense, the CSK takes the CSA to the next level, transforming local, sustainable foods into a nutritious meal ready for the table. Often a CSK will offer a weekly pick-up box of nutrient-dense prepared foods made from local, seasonal fruits, vegetables, meat, cheese, etc. The menu changes weekly or you can pick and choose which items you would like, but often the prepared foods are not necessarily meals but rather a variety of sides or meal supplements. One community kitchen in Oregon offers things like orange curd, seaweed kraut, and rose-cardamom kombucha, among other interesting and super nutritious foods.

Community Supported Kitchens, however, aren't about offering uber-healthy gourmet, expensive food. In fact, many CSK memberships are quite reasonable in price, comparable to a CSA. They also offer various payment options and are willing to work with members to find a way to accommodate their financial needs. Other CSKs offer a wide variety of foods that you can pick and choose weekly or whenever, without the commitment of paying upfront for 12 weeks worth of food. you simply pay as you go.

A Community Supported Kitchen's mission is also to serve as a community kitchen. It is a place for food and cooking education and community feasts; a place to share and appreciate good food while building stronger community. Cooking classes not only aim to get people back into the kitchen and in touch with their food, but also how to use local foods that they might not be familiar with.

While CSK's often sell certain food products, like sauces, condiments, and breads, a CSK in Maine offers some slightly different twists on the standard CSK model. The Local Sprouts Cooperative, the very first CSK on the East Coast, recently opened a community supported cafe, in addition to classes, and catering. Paying and working members receive credit towards cafe food, classes, and catered food, as well as a 10% discount on all purchases. By opening a cafe that serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Local Sprouts increases their kitchen's role as a community meeting place and helps to build relationships between local farmers, food producers, and local food consumers.

As interest and energy around sustainable, local food grows, particularly its role in fostering stronger, more sustainable communities, I predict that we'll see a lot more community supported kitchens sprouting up everywhere. See if you can find one in your neck of the woods and help support sustainable food in your community!

photo credit: ReneS