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There are many things that make a community, be it the language we speak, the religion we choose, the sexual orientation we have. However, there is at least one thing that we all have in common: food. Food has never been as sexy, as political, or as manufactured as it is today. Food is slow, food is fast, and in many ways food defines us. It is also one of the fastest depleting resources as the human population rises and the arable land rapidly decreases.

Many urban communities are seeking alternative forms of distribution. Many of us are familiar with farmers' markets where we can buy good coffee, great pastries, and pak choi picked that morning by the grower. Community supported agriculture (CSA) is taking it one step further, and it's about as local and as fresh as you can get without growing your own. Getting your food through a CSA means that you and a grower are making a mutual commitment to support each other; you by purchasing a box of produce, and the farmer by growing veggies, lambs, or making cheese for you to literally consume without being strangled by the chain of vendors who make up modern consumerism.

It's pretty customised; you reduce the transport chain, wipe out the supermarkets, and get really fresh produce delivered to a central pick-up point. These simple changes can increase soil and farm diversity, reduce emissions and give consumers the health benefits of fresh produce.

In the majority of CSA farms, consumers pay for a share upfront, but this can be flexible. This helps reduce the debt cycle and allows the farmer to pass on this benefit to you through reduced prices. It's not all about getting you a good deal, but with the price of veggies these days that can't hurt.

Why support a CSA scheme?

• to support the farmers, and by extension, our region
• so that the food doesn't travel the earth in refrigerated containers to get to us limp and tasteless weeks after harvest
• so that there is a connection between the people and the land
• so that we are in tune with the seasons
• so that when that predicted fuel crisis kicks in, it's not game over and we are not starting from scratch.
• so that you can purchase food grown sustainably and feel good about what you eat

In addition, New Zealand horticulture is at a crisis point as the cost of producing fruit and vegetables has met the wholesale price. This means growers are in a cycle of debt. Crop failures and market fluctuations are forcing small growers out of the industry whilst crippling larger growers. Industrial agriculture has also degraded the quality of produce, and growers and consumers are increasingly isolated through retailing.

Yet a small family farm can feed 200 people and has a sustainable bio-diverse footprint.

A CSA is a mutual commitment between a farmer and a community of supporters that provides a direct link between the production and the consumption of food. Supporters supplement the farm's yearly operating budget by purchasing a share in the seasonal harvest. CSA farms welcome and encourage members to visit the farm, and some even have "working shares" where part of your payment is in labour on the farm.

When we connect the circle and bypass supermarkets and distribution chains, we start to grow our local economy, and you start to have more input into what goes into your food. Besides, it just tastes better.

How to secure your stake in The Field

The UC Sustainability Office is assisting with a pilot of "The Field", a CSA farmed by Georgina Stanley, a former UC student. The Field is a one-hectare certified organic market garden close to Halswell. Making the University a hub for The Field brings the UC closer to its sustainable food aims and utilises the existing community and a single collection point.

As such, membership periods will be on a term-by-term basis, with a once off membership fee and a weekly amount of $20 per box. Each week members receive a box of freshly harvested seasonal vegetables, enough for a household of 3-4, delivered to the UC. Did we mention that George farms biodynamically too?

It also solves all those flatting issues of buying veggies together, because you just pick them up on campus. For students and the University community, having access to good fresh vegetables is essential for good mental and physical performance – last time I checked it was still sexy to be brainy and healthy.

We would like to commence this pilot project in November but need enough interested people to do so. Please register your interest with George by emailing TheField@orcon.net.nz. (Even if you are away until term one next year, please register so we can gauge potential numbers.)

And if you are keen to explore all the possibilities for food on campus, including the community gardens, the Sustainability Office wants to hear from you. Please contact jane.aistrope@canterbury.ac.nz.

For more about Sustainability at the UC go to www.sustain.canterbury.ac.nz