More Communities Sharing Agriculture CLEVELAND, OH (WOUB) - A fast-growing trend allows consumers to become shareholders of a farm, paying in advance for a portion of a season's worth of vegetables, meat, cheese or whatever the farm produces.

In northeast Ohio, at least 35 farms are part of Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, and more than 2,400 individuals and families depend on their weekly harvests.

That's twice as many CSA farms as two years ago, when 16 growers served 1,500 families.

Jerry DeWitt at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University says the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there are 4,000 CSAs nationwide.

Barb Foose of Blooming Patches Farm of Newberry says she started her CSA when she found sales inconsistent at farmers markets.

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