Bernard Smith Chatting with Some Visitors at Full of Life Farms
I believe that, as much as possible, the crops grown and animals raised on a farm should be thought of as food not commodity. So, naturally, I’m interested in how we move towards having more farmers/ranchers transition into direct relationships with eaters where food is grown and moved into the hands of eaters without being commoditized.
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Screenshot of www.localharvest.com local food listings website
As any farmer who has embarked on the journey of selling local food will tell you, marketing directly to consumers is about more than producing a healthy, tasty and desirable food product. It is also about making connections with those who are interested in eating such a product. There are many methods of building a network of customers. A few you might consider.
- Build your own website (www.wordpress.com is a free website building tool that you might check out)
- Attend conferences, events and workshops where you will interact with potential customers. Or better yet – give talks at them
- Knock on doors
- Put up posters (more…)
Earlier this week in Manitoba, the Harvest Moon Local Food Initiative launched a new website that will act as a portal between farmers and eaters, facilitating food transactions and information exchange between farm and fork. This exciting new tool will evolve with the organization and in the future will incorporate community building components that will further allow for the exchange of ideas and coordination of this “small scale, sustainable food system”.
The visually appealing main page of the website clearly directs viewers to the key areas of the website: a) Buy Harvest Moon Food; b) Meet your Farmer; c) Get Involved; d) Learn About Our Food
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