Please check us out at FarmsReach.com. I think it may be the kind of scalable platform you’re looking for. We’re currently only in the States, but we will expand eventually!

Melanie

I’m glad that this system works for you and I can see how many people would find it rewarding. I have three concerns with it.

1. I don’t like the way it scales. If dozens of people are calling the farmers that might make for a nice system… Do you think this will work if there are hundreds?

2. Your system restricts us to those people who are involved in local foods for the community aspect. While i think community if vital, some people just want it for the freshness, or the environmental advantages and not for the community. I think they should be able to do this as well.

3. Your system makes it much harder for new people and first time visitors to buy local. If buying local is something i have to ‘earn’ through the phone tag system you describe, your setting a bar to purchasing that makes sense for community, but might not appeal to a farmer who has two weeks to sell their produce and wants as many local clients as they can get.

Your web development offer is gratefully accepted. We’ll know more about where we’re going with development by the end of the weekend. I’m thinking of having an impromptu web discussion among some devel folks, if your interested, some me your contact details through the email box above.

That said I do not share your frustration with the string of phone calls system. Getting to know your community is an important part of a local food system and while it can sometimes be frustrating, it is also very rewarding when you find a great supplier after some time spent looking, thrill of the hunt so to speak Further given that no one ever recommends you call someone that they dislike, you end up with some high quality contacts that you keep going back to year after year. Give it some more time and enjoy it for what it is, rather then focusing on just the product outcome.

We’re in a similar, but perhaps more limited position. We just moved here a couple of months ago and know very few people here, but at least we do have the Spring Street Farmer’s market within walking distance. It’s been wonderful so far, but it’s only once per week and it does mean hauling our butts out of bed on the early side (for us) if we want to make sure that the things we want aren’t sold out. Additionally, we don’t always know what will be available from week to week. So, while we’ve done very well with it and are quite pleased, it’s a little bit of a crap shoot.

Our extra complication is that we don’t drive. We can’t zip around from place to place picking up some eggs here and mushrooms there. Are there others facing this limitation as well? I realize that farms don’t want to get in the delivery business, but maybe if they can combine forces on the website then they can pool resources and offer some kind of delivery, even if it’s dropping off to one central pick up location in various cities. It’s a lot easier for us to take a cab to and from one location when we know that the order we’ve placed will be waiting for us. Just another thought to add to the mix.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,
Scott Wilson

If we could get that done… we’d be golden.

Anything I can do to help by way of advice, I’d be happy to do so. I’m currently doing my Masters research on local food systems and am looking at regions that have fairly well-developed systems. Kingston’s local food locator is great:

http://fooddowntheroad.ca/online/locator.php

I’m not sure if it’s updated regularly though – it was created by the local chapter of the National Farmer’s Union when they had funding, but funding has dried up. I think finding someone who’s able to maintain and update the site will be the biggest challenge, but certainly a worthwhile one!

reach me at: shannoncourtney@hotmail.com any time or pass my info along to anyone else that might need some input/brainstorming help