Farmigo takes the farmers market online
Posted on December 11, 2012 at 08:01 AM EST
Farmigo takes the farmers market online San Francisco Chronicle Copyright 2012 San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Published 5:01 a.m., Tuesday, December 11, 2012 Each delivery - to a workplace or community center - incorporates the consumers' choice of produce, meats and dairy products from several different farms or producers. Convenient for consumersRonen got the idea while conducting market research that showed 20 percent of the population would shop at farmers' markets weekly if they were more convenient. "If we could bring that farmers' (market) experience - you pick which farm you want to buy from, what you want each week, you pay weekly - if we could bring that experience to you in a convenient way, that opens up the market," he said. Farmigo joins other recently launched online local food delivery services such as Good Eggs, which focuses more on artisan foods, and Pastoral Plate, a monthly community-supported agriculture program of Northern California meat and egg producers. Farmigo's prices are similar to that of organic goods sold at farmers' markets, but orders come in larger amounts, such as $6 for two bunches of leafy greens or $28 for a selection of meats. Customers typically receive a selection of whatever is in season and don't get to choose what is in the box, which is why Farmigo's market research showed that only 1 percent of Americans are community-supported agriculture members. "The holy grail of CSA programs is being able to provide 100 percent choice, just like going to a store," said Papadopoulos, who sees Farmigo as a way to diversify his farm's existing community-supported agriculture, U-pick and farmers' markets sales.