Get Fresh Net

Get Fresh Net

Summary

The GetFresh.Net project will launch an online farmers market modeled on the Plymouth Local Foods project in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Officially named www.westernmainemarket.com, the website will enable consumers to purchase local food online for pickup at one of two distributions sites in Farmington and Skowhegan, Maine. Located in western Maine, the purpose of the project is to help the region’s predominantly small farmers connect directly with consumers in an effective and efficient marketplace. While interest in local foods in increasing in the region, as evidenced by visits to farmers markets, new local products in grocery stores and anecdotally, consumers are challenged by busy schedules and many different food choices. The purpose of the project is to help farmers connect with these consumers and improve the ability of small and medium sized farmers to sell online. We anticipate that one of the distribution sites for the website will be at a locally owned grocery store and the second will be at a farmers market with regular Saturday morning hours.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Objectives & Performance Targets for this time period were as follows:

(September 08)
Reconvene the project advisory committee.
The advisory committee met four times between September and December. The committee membership has also expanded. (See “Outcomes & Impacts” for more information.)

Collect survey information from consumers and farmers.
We were slated to collect baseline data from farmers in September; however, we realized the timeline needed to be adjusted to accommodate the time needed to get farmers on board. We will collect baseline data from participating farmers this winter as these individuals come online with the project.

We had planned to use existing data on consumer trends to guide the selection of our distribution sites and gather information on the types of projects consumers are interested in. Adequate information from existing reports was not available. In December we conducted our own survey of consumers in the project area using student interns and an online survey option. (See “Outcomes & Impacts” for more information.)

(November)
Organize marketing conference and training session with Local Foods Plymouth.
We held a daylong workshop on marketing and related topics on November 15. Abby Holm from Local Foods Anywhere (formerly Local Foods Plymouth) presented at the workshop and assisted our staff in developing a skeleton model of the site.

(Dec 08 /Jan 09)
Finalize the site name and build the framework. Identify distribution sites.
By committee consensus we chose the site name, www.westernmainemarket.com. The original name “GetFresh.Net” was registered to another group and the committee felt strongly that the name should reflect the region we’re working in but be broad enough to include multiple communities and other locally made products at some point in the future. We are using data from our consumer survey to finalize distribution site selection. At this point we anticipate launching the Farmington distribution site at a locally owned grocery store and the Skowhegan site at a farmer’s market.

Recruit at least six farmers from each area for the March site launch.
We have 30 farmers interested in participating in the site.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Most of the information on accomplishments is described in the section on “Outcomes & Impacts.” We would add that interest in the site from both farmers and consumers is growing, despite our efforts to keep publicity low key until we are able to test out the product in the marketplace. Mention of the site has been published in a national industry magazine for fruit growers, and in local and statewide newspapers including the Bangor Daily News and MaineBiz. We are receiving requests from both farmers and consumers interested in participating in the site when it launches this spring and, as described earlier in this report, the project is attracting volunteers and community members interested in seeing its success. We look forward to reporting more this spring!

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

The following outcomes & impacts were accomplished during this reporting period:

– The advisory committee for the project met four times between August and December to provide input on the website name, selection of distribution sites and other logistics. Membership on the committee has changed slightly since our application due to staffing changes at the Maine Department of Agriculture (Deanne Herman resigned). Several additional individuals have also asked to be involved with the committee and include a former farmer who has a background buying and selling food for large distributors, a new farmer who recently moved to western Maine, and a representative from a company that produces bread from locally made grains. We now have three active farmers on the advisory committee and one former farmer. Other members from our original application have remained the same.

– We had two meetings with farmers and interested community members in Farmington and Skowhegan to provide an overview of the projects and recruit sellers to the site. Approximately 30 people attended. We also presented to about 15 individuals at the Farmington Farm Bureau on the project. We presently have 30 individuals interested in selling on the site. At the Farmington meeting, a representative from WorkFirst, a nonprofit organization that serves developmentally handicapped individuals, offered to explore the possibility of using her clients and vans to pick up food from farmers on the distribution day. We are discussing a similar arrangement with another local organization that also serves this population.

– We partnered with Heart of Maine RC&D and the Maine Department of Agriculture to host a daylong series of workshops on November 15 focused on marketing and related topics for farmers. Approximately 60 people attended the event at the Kennebec Valley Community College. Abby Holm of Plymouth Local Foods was the featured morning speaker and also conducted an afternoon computer workshop with 25 individuals interested in establishing online farmers markets.

– Abby’s presentation was well-received and an ad hoc western Maine group working on agriculture issues (The Oxford Agriculture Group)has invited Abby to present at a workshop they’ve organized in Oxford County, Maine in February.

– Also following the Nov. 15 conference, Rommy Haines, an Aroostook County farmer working with Farm Bureau, contacted us to discuss an online market and distribution system Farm Bureau is working to establish in Maine. We have laid the groundwork for shared communication between our project and Farm Bureau’s work.

– One of our advisory committee members, Mark Hews of the Threshold to Maine RC&D has invited us to present to a group in Portland, Maine on the project later this winter. The group is also interested in new ways to market locally produced food.

– Over 100 people participated in a consumer survey we conducted in early December with overwhelmingly positive response to the project (more on this in the “Accomplishments” section.)

– We have five individuals interested in volunteering at the distribution sites, to help with the website and to develop a marketing plan. In addition, Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District has expressed an interest in contracting with us long-term to coordinate the distribution site in Farmington.

– In anticipation of the site launch this spring, we are in the process of working with Somerset County Cooperative Extension to develop workshops this spring on marketing, licensing, insurance and other business related topics for farmers. The sessions will follow workshops we held last spring on small business planning and marketing for farmers.

Collaborators: