Ties are strengthening for farm families in Washington, DC, all thanks to a growing movement, called community supported agriculture.

Every morning, Washington, DC area families trade sleep for hard work at a 70-acre West Virginia farm.

They are part of a growing movement called 'community supported agriculture' or CSA.

Here's how CSAs work:

For about $30 a week, you purchase a share of the harvest before the seeds are even planted.  Some share owners volunteer to pick eggs or tend to the crops.  Come harvest time, all members get a bag stuffed with just-picked produce, once a week, dropped off near their homes.

At a time when family-owned farms struggle to survive, community-supported farms are multiplying.  In 2007, there were 1800 CSA farms nationwide. That number has grown by a thousand in just two years.

Allan and Maura Balliett  have been running the "fresh and local CSA" of Shepherdstown for more than 10 years.   Among the weekend farmers at Balliett's farm are city dwellers who dream of a Michelle-Obama style garden but don't have the space or the time.

'Community supported agriculture' is a growing green movement that's making family-owned farms more profitable and members more healthful.