We are full for the 2009-2010 season. If you would like to get on our waiting list, please fill out the Membership Form. We will contact you if space becomes available. Signing up for a username is not the same as filling in the membership form.     Would you like to support local, but don't have the means to do so easily? Do you have difficulty getting to farmers' markets? Are you interested in learning how to cook seasonally, thereby eating the best-tasting, most nutritious food available?  

• Fair Shares is a non-profit organization dedicated to getting fresh, local, seasonal food into the hands of more St. Louisans--regardless of their income. We think it's important to know the origin of your food--who grew it and where. With all the horrifying stories of food contamination in the news lately, it's a health risk not to know. We're also committed to spreading the wisdom of eating seasonally (if you've ever eaten a grocery store tomato in the winter, you know what we're talking about). Sustainable farming techniques are important to us as well. Organic is great, but certification isn't a must for us. We know our farmers use minimal chemicals only when necessary and more importantly they use practices that don't rob the earth of resources or harm the delicate equilibrium. Nature had it right to begin with, so we love it when farmers know how to work with nature instead of against it. Our food loves it, too. So do our bodies.

• We believe that eating healthy shouldn't just be an elite privilege, but a right for every individual, regardless of income. Fair Shares donates profits and works with other organizations to help low-income families gain access to "real" food.

• Fair Shares is working with local farmers and producers to form a Combined CSA* (CCSA). Each week, we collect, organize and distribute a well-rounded example of the freshest, seasonal, sustainably-produced foods available in St. Louis all year long. Members of Fair Shares know who produces all the food we feature, plus we give menu ideas, recipes, and storage and preparation tips in our newsletters and on the forum. Our website is rich with information to inspire your creativity and engage your mind. Any questions email Sara Hale at sara (at) fairshares (dot) org.

• * Community Supported Agriculture is a partnership between consumers interested in safe, fresh, local foods and farmers interested in a stable market for their products. Consumers pledge to support the farms as co-producers, sharing in the bounty and the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to pests or weather conditions.

Here's a great article from Johns Hopkins magazine to help you understand why it's important to eat food from small family farms rather than the industrially farmed food in most grocery stores: