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I know there are a lot of them starting up across the country in place of Farmers Markets and CSA's. Some places are so glutted with Farmers Markets that there are not enough people to buy so farmers are dropping out and CSA's you have to take what they give you each week so people like the co op idea better. Plus you can pick up more than just produce. Our co op started with just my produce and eggs, honey, jams and a local baker. We just kept searching for local producers. We have 2 new bakers, a new farmer, Viking ice cream from Poulsbo, Milk, Fresh frozen and smoked salmon, pickled items, and now the mushrooms. We are working on finding a cheese producer and should be able to offer organic grains from Oregon. We just started charging a membership fee this year. Last year was a trial year. This year we also received enough donations from membership to purchase a software program for internet ordering. I'ts always done on the internet but this program takes care of a lot of things automatically which frees up a lot of volunteer hours. Producers get their available products entered by Sunday night. Members order what they want Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon from 3-4 their orders are sorted into bins then pick up and pay is 4-6. Producers pay 15% of sales up to $15 a week. Similar to what a Farmers Market would cost. It's also good since you only pick what is ordered so there is less waste. Last year we stopped for the winter but this year we decided to go year round. All ordering is slowed due to lack of produce but I'm working on putting in a 30 x96 High Tunnel so I can have greens through the winter. Also breaking new ground for more fall crops. I would have been able to sell this whole winter if I had been able to plant more. Onions, Leeks, Carrots, Beets, Cole crops, Potatoes, Squash. All those could have been sold all winter but are sold out. I'm going to focus on fall and winter since there is an abundance of summer produce. We should be picking up a few new farmers and the other one we have only does summer since she's a bus driver during the rest of the year. Our website is www.Freshfoodrevolution.org. Check us out. We are on Facebook too.
that sounds really nice, would they want goat milk soap? I make it from our girls milk..
I know there are a lot of them starting up across the country in place of Farmers Markets and CSA's. Some places are so glutted with Farmers Markets that there are not enough people to buy so farmers are dropping out and CSA's you have to take what they give you each week so people like the co op idea better. Plus you can pick up more than just produce. Our co op started with just my produce and eggs, honey, jams and a local baker. We just kept searching for local producers. We have 2 new bakers, a new farmer, Viking ice cream from Poulsbo, Milk, Fresh frozen and smoked salmon, pickled items, and now the mushrooms. We are working on finding a cheese producer and should be able to offer organic grains from Oregon. We just started charging a membership fee this year. Last year was a trial year. This year we also received enough donations from membership to purchase a software program for internet ordering. I'ts always done on the internet but this program takes care of a lot of things automatically which frees up a lot of volunteer hours. Producers get their available products entered by Sunday night. Members order what they want Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon from 3-4 their orders are sorted into bins then pick up and pay is 4-6. Producers pay 15% of sales up to $15 a week. Similar to what a Farmers Market would cost. It's also good since you only pick what is ordered so there is less waste. Last year we stopped for the winter but this year we decided to go year round. All ordering is slowed due to lack of produce but I'm working on putting in a 30 x96 High Tunnel so I can have greens through the winter. Also breaking new ground for more fall crops. I would have been able to sell this whole winter if I had been able to plant more. Onions, Leeks, Carrots, Beets, Cole crops, Potatoes, Squash. All those could have been sold all winter but are sold out. I'm going to focus on fall and winter since there is an abundance of summer produce. We should be picking up a few new farmers and the other one we have only does summer since she's a bus driver during the rest of the year. Our website is www.Freshfoodrevolution.org. Check us out. We are on Facebook too.
that sounds really nice, would they want goat milk soap? I make it from our girls milk..
