Research Projects at Troy Gardens CSA
Member Research: Why do they renew or give up their membership and
Principal
Investigators: Willow Russell and Lydia Zepeda |
1) Why do some Troy CSA members decide to renew their membership from year to year while others do not? 2) Do Troy CSA members experience changes in attitude and behavior after joining? 3) If so, in what ways do their attitudes and behavior shift and why do these changes occur? The purpose of this research was to help Troy Community Farm meet the needs of its members and therefore contribute to the economic sustainability of the farm and to see if the inherent characteristics and the social structure of CSA could facilitate environmentally friendly behavior. To read about the highlights of this study or to download a PDF of the full document follow the links provided below. Please be advised, however, that the findings in this case study are specific to Troy Community Farm and may not be generalizable to other farms and related situations. Photos:
Vegetables from Troy Community Farm (photos by: Willow Russell). |
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| This
research was conducted during the spring and summer of 2006 by Willow
Russell for completion of her Masters thesis at the Nelson Institute
for Environmental Studies. Willow worked with her academic
committee chair, Lydia Zepeda, and committee members, Stanley Temple
and Charles Hatcher, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Special thanks are extended to Claire Strader, Marcia Caton Campbell, Andrea Gunst, David Deal, the staff at FTG, CIAS, and Biodiversity Project, and, of course, to all those that participated in this study. Funding for this project was provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Food and Society Initiative. |
This
project was designed in collaboration with Claire Strader, the managing
farmer at Troy Community Farm, to answer three key questions: 
Browse the Highlights of this Study