A First-Timer's Guide to Joining a CSA Near Ann Arbor

A Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share is a way to pay a local farm up front for a season and receive a weekly box of whatever is fresh. Around Ann Arbor, shares typically run from late spring through fall, with some farms offering winter shares too.

How to choose

• Size: most farms offer full and half shares — a half share is often plenty for 1-2 people who cook a few times a week.
• Pickup location: Tantre Farm and Blue Spring Farm both offer pickup sites in Chelsea and/or Ann Arbor — pick one on your normal route.
• Length and price: most local summer CSAs run about 18 weeks (June-September) and cost roughly $550-$950 depending on share size.
• Customization: some farms let you swap items you won’t use; others are take-it-as-it-comes. A few, like Blue Spring Farm, offer egg or flower add-ons.
• Not ready to commit to one farm? Argus Farm Stop’s weekly produce box pulls from over 200 local farms instead of just one.

Where to start

Browse our farm directory filtered to CSA shares to compare options across Washtenaw County before the spring sign-up rush — many CSAs fill up by April.