People in Butte, Glenn, Tehama and Shasta counties can now get local food delivered to their doorstep. An online farmers market was launched in the region this week. Dubbed the North State Producers Network, it allows residents in those four counties to order local food products online and then have them delivered to their home, office or a nearby pick-up site in their community.
Valerie Miller, the head of the new network and also the cheesemaker at Orland Farmstead Creamery, said online farmers markets aren’t new. Several currently operate in the Bay Area, she said. Part of her reasoning for starting one in the North State is that people have told her they want to buy local food, but the hours of regular farmers markets often conflict with their schedules.
“The farmers market is great and people really want to support the farmers market, but it’s on Saturday up until noon or 1 p.m., and you have kids that you need to take to soccer practice, or baseball games or piano lessons or whatever it is, and by the time you get done running your family around and doing your other commitments the market is over,” she said.
The idea is that an online farmers market would give people more flexibility.
So far, the Chico Women’s Club is the one community delivery site that’s available to customers, but essentially the network can grow into as many sites as people want, Miller said. Sites can be created anywhere by anyone. A person or organization just has to be willing to act as the site’s official community contact who will receive and distribute weekly deliveries.
“For doing that they get a percentage of sales,” Miller said. “So for a school or a church, it could be a PTA volunteer that acts as a community contact and then the school is using it as a fundraiser.”
Community contacts will receive a 3 percent commission from their community’s orders, Miller said.
The other delivery option – home or office delivery – is currently up and running. There is no membership fee, but it does include a $5 delivery charge and a one-time $15 deposit for the reusable materials used to package the products, Miller said.
Orland Farmstead Creamery was awarded a $100,000 USDA grant to help with the venture. Local producers with products currently available from the network include Beber Almond Milk, Llano Seco, Orland Farmstead Creamery, Pacific Culture, Pacific Crest Salsa and Skylake Ranch Pomegranate Products.