Fresh Nation expands online hub for farmers market shopping
Tony Lee opened what he calls “the largest food-only farmers market in the state,” with about 50 vendors, at the Danbury Fair Mall in 2011.
Lee said that as he set out to share his love for locally grown food, he appreciated vendors who “really knew their product.” But one thing he said was missing in the farmers market business was the convenience of a platform that allowed shoppers to buy online.
“There”™s a large marketplace of people who want to buy fresh local food,” Lee said. “But how are these small businesses supposed to access bigger marketplaces?”
In 2012, Lee started developing a website to serve as a platform for farmers markets to collectively give customers a selection of locally grown products to choose from. That”™s when FreshNation.com was born.
Last year, Fresh Nation test launched its online platform with 40 vendors from various farmers markets in Fairfield County. Fresh Nation re-launched in May and it has expanded to Westchester County, N.Y., and Los Angeles in the last three months, with close to 200 vendors total.
Customers pick out their grocery items and drop them into an online shopping cart, much as they would on any online shopping site. Once the request is submitted and processed, Fresh Nation personal shoppers pick up the chosen items at local markets and deliver them.
“You pick the day you want the delivery, pick all the foods you want, put in a credit card number and we receive your order,” Lee said. “We give your order to a personal food shopper who we recruited and trained to select and safely transport our food. We like to say we are pickier than you are about this. Then they buy the food as if they were you.”
Many people still shop the traditional way at farmers markets. Jennifer Presto, a Wilton resident, arrived in the mid-afternoon July 31 at the Westport Farmers”™ Market with her two kids, Wolf and Bailey. The family likes to grow their own food and eat healthy but said the main reason they shop locally is to show support for local farmers.
“I like eating local,” Jennifer Presto said. “It”™s not necessarily because local or organic food is healthier, but it”™s to support local businesses. I want to make tomato salad today, but the tomato tree in my backyard only grew two tomatoes, so I”™m picking up some more.”
About 30 vendors filled the parking lot at the Westport Farmers”™ Market on Imperial Avenue. Lori Cochran-Dougall, executive director of the market, said it has been in business for nine years and that she handpicks and vets each of the vendors. All of them must meet the basic requirement of having one locally farmed ingredient in their food, whether it is artisan huckleberry pies, Napa cabbages or freshly caught flounder.
“As people”™s awareness of supporting local markets grows, we”™re seeing a surge in applications,” Cochran-Dougall said. “Our job is to let all the weight fall off people”™s shoulders as they shop, so they can feel free to ask vendors questions and trust them.”
Fresh Nation doesn”™t stop at bringing technology into the farmers market. It also envisions supporting an online hub for free information about the farmers market movement. Within this year, Lee said, Fresh Nation will launch a newsletter that covers topics including local food, food safety and health recipes.
“I”™ve always held the view that farmers markets are like a town square and people congregate there,” Lee said. “Farmers markets can be instrumental in bringing food education to young people. We want to become a central point to disseminate information about farmers markets, which have an important place in the local economy and community.”