Practice Partner: Pluk!CSA

CSA (community supported agriculture) farms are growing across Europe and transforming our food systems. They are cultivating sustainable business models rooted in social and solidarity economics. The financial risks are equitably shared by the subscribing members who pay for their fresh produce in advance that gives financial security to the farmers. The farmers and the members who buy and eat the produce have direct relations and decide together on what crops to grow.

One CSA farm on the edge Amsterdam, Pluk!CSA wants to advance its commitment to land, gender, and food justice. This CSA farm is in a similar situation to most small-scale organic farms in the Netherlands. They are led by women and they have precarious land agreements, e.g. informal agreements with private land-owners or a one-year renewable contracts with the government. The lack of land rights is preventing them from making long-term sustainable investments such as planting trees or developing a multi-year training programme for future CSA farmers.

The farmers want their produce to benefit and nourish food vulnerable and deprived groups who live close to the farm. They are aware that most of their produce is going to wealthy residents of Amsterdam who are health-conscious and eco-friendly. Their land is too small a size to receive subsidies from the EU (e.g. CAP) and they do not receive any governmental support for their work.

They have introduced a sliding scale of payment and a pay-according-to-your-hourly-wage to promote solidarity where people with more money pay more and those with less money pay less and afford their produce. Nonetheless, the farmers themselves are making about €14 (below minimum wage) and also significantly dependent on volunteers and unpaid interns to complete the farming tasks. Members are called harvesters because they must go to the farm and harvest the fresh food to connect with the farmers and reduce farm work. This year they will also try to practice disability justice by giving some shares of their produce by delivering veggie basks to people who cannot self-harvest.

A smaller challenge is the sharing and distribution of the harvest. The farm has a farm garden with flowers, herbs and vegetables. At this moment the produce is enough for the participants and the communal lunch at the farm, but if we would like to contribute seriously to the projects in the city centre, de Meent would have to upscale its production and also professionalize its order- and distribution system; producing more of everything, and also making it more readily available. We want to contribute to more food justice by supplying more organic food and herbs to the social projects in the city. At the moment it mainly goes to the Wereldhuis and everyone is too busy to deliver to other locations.

What changes does Pluk!CSA farm need to happen for more social justice and inclusion?

Secure long-term land access to small-scale agroecology growers, particularly women-led collectives (who are historically and currently deprived of agricultural land rights)

Public support for CSAs in the form of subsidizing a proportion of the produce for vulnerable and deprived groups

Recognition and compensation for our provision of social and ecological benefits

What do we (the CSA farm) need to learn for more social justice and inclusion to happen?

How to influence land-use allocation and land-use contracts?

How to make and find allies who can support us in organizing and having a political voice. We are so busy working the land we cannot attend the meetings and there is no compensation for our participation.

Learn ways to connect with food deprived and vulnerable groups who may live near to the farm

For more information visit