Getting Grounded in Leeds: What We Learned from Visiting CSA Farms
Date Published: 17th July 2025
In March, our staff team and board of directors took a trip to Leeds for our annual “away day”, more than an opportunity to gather the people behind the CSA Network from the various pockets of the UK we work in.
We met with CSA farms and community projects, at different stages of development, in and around the city, including Calderdale Ecological Land Trust (CELT), Meanwood Valley Urban Farm, Braythorne Orchard, Kirkstall Valley Farm and Swillington Farm.
The visit gave us a chance to connect with the people doing the real work on the ground and to hear directly about both the challenges and creativity shaping their CSAs.
The Power of Community (and the Challenges of Keeping It Going)
One of the strongest messages we came away with was that CSAs are most resilient when the community truly gets behind them. At Kirkstall, for example, they’ve introduced a community rate (matching healthy start vouchers) alongside a solidarity rate, making shares more accessible.
They’ve also built a stable membership system by encouraging standing orders and offering a one-month trials with a friendly reminder email. Simple steps like this have helped reduce churn and admin headaches.
Kirkstall’s weekly email updates and community events (including a summer birthday party complete with bands, food, and a bar!) are a great example of how CSAs can build stronger ties with their members. They’re even collaborating with other co-ops and zero waste shops to act as a pick-up point, a great example of mutual support.
At Meanwood, we learned how the energy from a strong volunteer base formed during the COVID pandemic has carried through. Their core team includes two paid growers and a community engagement volunteer, and while they’re working on communication between the board and the growing team, they’ve found creative ways to make things work and are focused on adapting their model to fit their strengths.
Keeping Boards and Farms Connected
One theme that kept coming up was the need for the boards behind farms to stay closely connected to what’s actually happening on the farm, specifically the CSA.
It’s easy for a disconnect to grow, especially when board members aren’t familiar with the realities of growing food or managing land. We were reminded of how crucial it is to support these relationships, something we’re considering in our own work by staying in touch with our own member farms.
Shared Learning: From Signage to Share Farming
The trip also reinforced how vital it is to keep sharing knowledge across the network. From signage that invites people in, to how to insulate benches from curious sheep, there’s a wealth of small lessons that can make a big difference. For example:
- Swillington has tried a variety of approaches, including weddings, glamping, forest schools and meat CSAs. Chickens have proven a particular success, while share farming has required more explanation to customers than expected.
- The team there also trialled a unique payment model, where new and existing customers pay into separate accounts depending on who manages their CSA share, a creative workaround for VAT registration and business structure.
- Others, like CELT, are wrestling with the practicalities of water costs and a lack of time or capacity to apply for schemes like SFI, all while wondering how to plan for succession.
Food, Climate and the Future
A bigger picture theme that emerged was the urgent need to frame food as a climate issue. Many CSAs are already doing this work, quietly and powerfully, by modelling sustainable local food systems. Projects like the tree planting initiative we saw (with sloping land, deer fencing, and fruit boxes designed for year-round storage) show how CSAs can contribute to a more resilient food future.
We were inspired by the ambition behind ideas like fruit and nut agroforestry being utilisted by Braythorne Orchard, and the push to diversify through schools, workshops, nature-based activities and more — though we also heard about the very real limitations on time, money, and labour that can come with diversification.
What We’re Taking Forward
Ultimately, this trip reaffirmed why we do what we do at CSA Network UK: to support, connect and amplify the work of CSAs across the country. We left Leeds with new insights, some big questions and renewed focus on helping CSA farms not just survive but thrive.
Whether through mentoring, peer learning, gatherings or practical support, our job is to listen to what’s needed and respond. We’re grateful to all the farms and projects who hosted us, shared openly, and reminded us just how powerful this movement can be when we work together.