A fresh fruit and vegetable phenomenon is growing around Northwest Ohio.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) was created to help sustain smaller farms as well as build stronger relationships between a community and its farmers.

Co-creaters Cindy Huguley and farmer Kurt Bench were in Hanna Hall last night to present their project.

“When you think about food, you think about Kroger,” Huguley said.

CSA is a project based on community members buying shares of fruits and vegetables before the planting season. Farmers then plant their seeds and when the harvest begins, those who bought the share can pick up their food every week.

This kind of project is bigger in other cities, but it’s not so prevalent in Northwest Ohio, Huguley said.

Pick-up locations vary from schools or churches, but Bench’s farm, Elmore Farm and John Riehm’s farms usually drop the food off at Farmer’s Markets in Perrysburg and Bowling Green.

Riehm also said his Tiffin farm, Riehm Farm, practiced organic growing methods, making their produce more nutritious.

“You want to get as high nutrition as you can without the chemicals,” Riehm said. “I think [if] you get the chemicals off there you get the full flavor of fruit.”

The farms grow an eclectic array of fruits and vegetables, including sweet corn, asparagus, lettuce, snap peas, tomatoes, zucchini and strawberries.

Huguley said she shops less because she receives so much produce weekly and she cooks it all at home.

“I’ve definitely seen a shift in my eating patterns,” she said.

One bulk of produce, or share, is designed to feed a family of four.

“On average we try to put eight types of vegetables in the box, usually,” Bench said. But he also said the variety of fruit or vegetables depends on the quality of the growing season. Some weeks people might end up with more corn and less peas, Bench said.

Half-shares are also available, as well as varied payment options. Buyers can pay conventionally or volunteer at the respective farm and work off their bill.

The farms are always eager to take volunteers, Huguley said.

“By teaching people, we learn,” Bench said.

That connection with the community is another aspect CSA farmers are looking for.

Bench said it’s easier for people to know what was going in their food when they know their farmers, and that relationship can bond a community.

He then told a story about a Farm Day potluck he helped put together, and how the town came together to just have fun eating food and shooting the breeze.

“Those kind of experiences are what I’m trying to promote,” Bench said.