Date of Award

Summer 2019

Document Type

Dissertation Restricted

Degree Name

Doctor of Public Administration (DPA)

Department

Public Policy and Administration

Committee Chairperson

Mark W. Davis, Ph.D., MPA

Committee Member

Kristen B. Crossney, Ph.D.

Abstract

This qualitative case study focuses on twenty (20) Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, organizations. These CSA organizations were selected through purposive sampling, located in the United States and divided into four (4) regions (South East, South West, North East and North West) with five (5) CSA organizations per region. The selected Community Supported Agriculture organizations were then analyzed by location, number of seasons and USDA certification status before being analyzed through the Advocacy Coalition Framework, or ACF, for the purpose of this dissertation. The ACF was applied to each region in order to identify how these CSA organizations mobilized their associations, competed with local grocery stores and benefited the community. All of this information was analyzed in order to answer the following research questions that guided this project. The first research question is: What are the benefits regarding establishing a CSA organization? The second research question is: What are the benefits regarding establishing a year-round CSA organization? The results of this study showed the majority of the CSA organizations across the United States operate for three (3) seasons and are not USDA certified. In cooler climates, year-round CSA organizations could develop by use of Greenhouses in addition to offering other additional services. The conclusion of this study delivered recommendations for future research.

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