KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- At Mountain Meadows Farm in Anderson County, Shannon Meadows is tending to a harvest that she's already shared.

"It's a way for the consumers who want to know where their food is coming from to link up with local farmers," said Meadows of the farm's first-year CSA program.

CSA or Community Supported Agriculture takes out the middleman, connecting concerned eaters with the farmers who grow their food. "There's a surge of CSAs in the community this year so its catching on with consumers as well as farmers," she said.

With a few hundred dollars, you can 'purchase' a share of a local farm, like Organicism Farms in Seymour. The farmer gets money upfront to help with costs, and you get groceries.

"They buy a share on the farm, and then every week they get a basket of produce from the farm that we've picked fresh for them," said Jessica Hammonds, who runs Organicism with Ryan Carden.

CSAs can help bring strawberries from your garden to your table without you doing the work. "I like to say it's like having a backyard garden without all the work, because you have things already picked, packed and washed for you to pick up a basket at market," said Meadows.

By paying for your produce before its grown, you save time and money, and you help local farmers get started. "Most of the costs with a farmer are upfront costs," said Meadows, "You have seed and equipment and labor cost, and a lot of that is in the early spring and so we're living in some amount of debt if you aren't doing some CSA program."

The food comes straight from the grower's hand to you. "They are going to have that picture in their mind every time they are eating of where their food was and who grew it," said Hammonds of CSA members, "And I really think that's the main benefit of the CSA."

"They develop a relationship with a farmer so they actually develop a relationship and know where their food is coming from," said Meadows.

Basket items will vary with season, and outcome of this year's crops. "It's a neat way to be introduced to new foods and learn new recipes, and just try new things, and I think that's what people really like with it," said Hammonds.

Mountain Meadows says their CSA will include anything from berries to tomatoes, corn, lettuce and beans throughout the 20-week span. Organicism has split the season into two, 12-week CSA periods.

Both still have shares available for this summer. For more information, click on the links below.