Community supported agriculture" (also known as CSA) is a long term for a simple concept.

In the spring, members pay a fee to a local farm, which entitles them to a weekly share of what the farm grows during the season. It's like buying a season pass for produce, as you would for a ski resort or Lagoon.

There are four farms operating CSAs in Utah. The advantage is it gives the farmers a guaranteed market for what they grow, and the farmers have the money to pay for up-front costs, such as seed.

Some of the advantages to members are:

• Fresh-tasting, organic food — lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, potatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, corn and more. Most of it is picked the same day, as opposed to supermarket produce that might be picked a week or two beforehand.

• Food grown close to home, which saves on shipping and energy costs to the environment.

• Helping local farmers stay in business — especially at a time when they might be able to make more money selling their land to developers. So it helps preserve open space in the community.

But membership is not without challenges. Members must pick up the food at a drop-off point on a certain day of the week, which isn't always convenient when people are taking summer vacations. Sun River Farms near Tremonton has its Salt Lake members pick up produce on Saturday morning at the Pioneer Park Farmer's Market.

"It seems to be the best place because people can see what they're getting from us and then buy from the other farmers there to fill in the gaps. So it helps support the other farmers as well," said Sun River farmer James Hagerty.

"But on the downside, the farmer's market has grown and so has the traffic, and the parking can be difficult."

Also, you get whatever is ripe that week, so you can't expect produce such as tomatoes or corn in June. The veggies come fresh from the farm, which may be a surprise to those who are used to carrots that are cleaned, peeled and in plastic resealable bags. It takes a little work to prepare them.

Some CSAs encourage working for part of the crop share — weeding, planting, picking, packing, delivering and so on.

Share costs vary depending on the CSA, how much food you want and how many weeks the CSA includes in its growing season. Each of the four CSAs in Utah is priced differently, but you could pay between $180 to $450, depending on the amount of produce you'd get each week.

Some advice from past members: When you're signing up, ask how much produce you can expect to get each week per share. If you have a small family, you might want to just buy a half-share, so you don't have veggies going to waste. A large family may want to buy double that to meet their needs. Growing seasons vary, depending on the CSA — so check them out: