Shannon Bessette of Randolph is originally from the Adirondacks and learned to cook at a young age from and with her grandmother.

"I grew up in a farming family where we grew a lot of our own food. Gathered some wild food like berries and things like that," she said.

Bessette is a professor at Jamestown Community College and teaches a local foods, local places class in the fall.

She's also part of the Jamestown Public Market's Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, a national farm membership system that allows millions of consumers to receive a season's worth of fresh products from local farmers.

What You Need To Know

  • Community Supported Agriculture is a statewide and national farm membership program

  • In WNY, the Jamestown Public Market and St. Luke's Episcopal Church are two of many groups that sponsor the effort

  • Consumers buy shares of a farmer's crop for the entire growing season

​ "I'm helping to support their livelihoods and strengthening our local food system," said Bessette.

Now in its third year, members like Bessette get their choice of three different boxes to buy over a 16-week period, getting locally grown food, with a small portion of the proceeds going to the mobile market which we took you to last summer.

"We call it the eat fresh, do good CSA. People like Shannon love to support our CSA because they already really understand the importance," said Linnea Haskin, director of the Jamestown Public Market.

The importance being participating farmers cultivate a guaranteed income, to offset their expenses, by growing a pre-determined amount.

Consumers like Bessette then pick up their box weekly at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Jamestown.

"Lettuce in the spring, root vegetables in the fall. It's amazing because It not only gives the community the opportunity to invest in a local farm, it gives the community a chance to really understand the importance of their growing season," said Haskin.

Haskin celebrated National CSA Week at the end of February to raise awareness about the program and recruit more people.

The group had 50 members the first year and 76 last year, with the goal of now signing a hundred.

"The more members we get, the more community members are getting delicious fresh food. They're able to really understand more about where their food comes from," said Haskin.

Like Bessette, who along with Haskin, encourages others to help grow the membership.

"It really helps our local economy. Everything just tastes really good," said Bessette.

The program runs June through September. There are also flower and meat CSA's.

The cost of the boxes range from $250 dollars over the 16 weeks, depending on size.

For more information on how to join a CSA in your area, click here.