ANCHOR LEAD:
IF YOU LOVE FRESH PRODUCE BUT ARE SICK OF RUNNING TO THE STORE TO STOCK UP... AND SICK OF THE HIGH COSTS, TOO....NOW THERE'S ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE A REAL INVESTMENT IN HEALTHY EATING: BECOME A SHAREHOLDER IN A FARM AND GET DIVIDENDS YOU CAN REALLY SINK YOUR TEETH INTO!
_____________HAS SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT IN TODAY'S HEADS UP!

TRACK ONE Length: 10
LISA ORAM LOVES TO COOK WITH FRESH VEGGIES, SO TO KEEP HERSELF IN PILES OF PRODUCE... AT REASONABLE PRICES... SHE DECIDED TO SKIP THE STORE AND ACTUALLY INVEST IN A LOCAL FARM.

SOT
KEY @: 11 Lisa Oram, Farm Shareholder
"We get better stuff than we get at the grocery store."

TRACK TWO Length: 08
BUT LISA'S NO FARMER... SHE'S PART OF WHAT'S CALLED A C-S-A OR COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE FARM. IT'S BECOMING A FOOD PHENOMENON!

SOT
Length: 03(Dan Kaplan, CSA Farm Manager )
"There's about 3,000 of these farms that are doing it."

TRACK THREE Length: 14
BEFORE GROWING SEASON STARTS, YOU BUY "A SHARE" OF THE UPCOMING CROP... AVERAGE COST ABOUT $400. THEN THROUGHOUT THE SEASON, YOU RECEIVE A SET AMOUNT OF WHATEVER IS BEING HARVESTED. DAN KAPLAN RUNS ONE THE COUNTRY'S LONGEST RUNNING C-S-A'S.

SOT
KEY @: 39 Dan Kaplan, CSA Farm Manager
"That share roughly feeds a family with 2 adults and however many kids are there."

TRACK FOUR Length: 08
IF YOU LIVE IN A CITY OR SUBURB, MANY FARMS OFFER DROP OFF LOCATIONS. LISA DRIVES TO HER C-S-A AND SAYS THERE'S NO DOUBT SHE'S SAVING MONEY.

SOT
KEY @: 53 Lisa Oram, Farm Shareholder
"I'm sure if we went to the grocery store to buy organic produce, which is what we're getting at the, at the farm, we would spend a lot more than we do in one season's share."

TRACK FIVE Length: 14
CLIENT NOTE: Please see source information below for more information on the study
RESEARCH BACKS THAT UP. A STUDY FOUND SAVINGS OF BETWEEN 60-150% OVER RETAIL PRICES FOR THE SAME AMOUNT OF ORGANIC PRODUCE.
BUT THERE ARE THINGS TO CONSIDER. KAPLAN SAYS, LIKE WITH ANY INVESTMENT, THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES.

SOT
KEY @: 1:18 Dan Kaplan, CSA Farm Manager
"Shareholders buy into the risk and the reward of farming so if there's a bad crop, we all share that loss and if there's a bounty, we all share that excess."

TRACK SIX Length: 13
AND THERE CAN BE EXCESS. A SHARE TYPICALLY AMOUNTS TO BETWEEN 300-500 POUNDS OF PRODUCE PER SEASON.
LISA'S ACTUALLY TRYING A HALF SHARE AND SAYS HER FAMILY'S HOOKED...NOT JUST ON THE FOOD BUT ON THE FUN OF HEADING TO THE FARM.

SOT
Length: 0(Lisa Oram, Farm Shareholder )
"The produce and the value is definitely the top benefit, but the other benefit is there is a community."

ANCHOR TAG:
MOST C-S-A SEASONS LAST FROM ABOUT LATE SPRING TO EARLY FALL... BUT SOME DO OFFER WINTER SHARES TOO FOR AN ADDITIONAL CHARGE. SHARE PRICES AND THE AMOUNT OF PRODUCE YOU RECEIVE VARIES FROM FARM TO FARM. ALSO... MOST OF THE FARMS CONSIDER THEIR CROPS ORGANIC... SOME ARE CERTIFIED ORGANIC WHILE OTHERS ARE NOT.

SOURCE INFORMATION:

Dan Kaplan
Brookfield Farm
24 Hulst Rd.
Amherst, MA 01002
413-253-7991

Dan Kaplan is the Farm Manager at Brookfield Farm. In 1986, it became the third C-S-A in the country. Kaplan regularly presents at agricultural conferences.

SOURCE INFORMATION FOR TRACK FIVE:

Cooley, Jack P and Lass, Dan A. "Consumer Benefit from Community Supported Agriculture Membership." In: Review of Agricultural Economics.

The study was performed at the College of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst by Daniel Lass and Jack Cooley. It was published in the Review of Agricultural Economics.

Contact:
Daniel Lass
413-545-1501