Shopping online has become increasingly popular among consumers, but selling products digitally comes with its own perks, too. Small-scale farmers and business owners can attest: online local foods sales are a win-win for shoppers and vendors alike. In fact, strong demand from vendors was a major factor driving Field to Family to offer a second Online Farmers Market season in 2021.
We’ve asked some of our vendors to share what they love most about participating in the online farmers market.
Check out the top five reasons below!
1. Convenient Sales
Selling local food through the Online Farmers Market requires some up-front work (mainly updating product listing and availability), but after that, it’s fairly hands-off for our vendors. The software shows off photos and descriptions, tracks purchase data, handles transactions and sends the vendors a detailed list of everything they sell each week.
“I like the Online Farmers Market because I know what I sell every single weekend, and it is so simple, and so easy to come and use,” said Ansel Cummings, owner of Ansel’s Awesome Sauce.
Karen Wasson, grower at Wasson Produce, pointed out the bonus convenience of free advertising. Participating in the market draws more eyes to her work and attracts more attention to her business, along with the 30+ others participating.
2. Reducing Waste
Knowing exactly what they’ve sold ahead of time of also helps our vendors minimize wasted food and effort. Shelly Squier of Squier Squash said that in-person sales require more guess work: you never know what’s going to sell and what you’ll have to lug back home.
“This is assured sales, and I like knowing that so I don’t pick too much,” Squier said.
Emma Johnson of Buffalo Ridge Orchard shared a similar sentiment.
“When we make a delivery for the Online Farmers Market, we know everything has sold,” she said. “It’s a really good feeling to know that your van is full of food that’s going to be delivered promptly the next day.”
3. Expanding access to customers
Our nonprofit is committed to expanding access to locally grown food in our community. Prior to starting the Online Farmers Market, we did so primarily as a wholesale food hub, connecting small farmers with big institutions like school districts and retirement communities.
The Online Farmers Market has created an additional point of access between vendors and customers, especially for those located farther away from Iowa City.
“We’ve really appreciated working with Field to Family and the Online Farmers Market to give us access to this Iowa City market.” Grant Shadden of Red Earth Gardens.
Shadden farms land on the Meskwaki Settlement in Tama, over an hour northwest of Iowa City. Prior to the online market, the farm sold wholesale through Field to Family’s food hub, but did not participate in any other Iowa City farmers markets.
Pre-pandemic, Olson Garden Market did not sell directly to consumers in Iowa City, either, but the Online Market has connected farmers Brian and Kerri Olson with a new customer base as well.
“Coming over to Iowa City from Grinnell where we live just puts more smiles on everybody’s faces,” Brian Olson said.
4. Saving Time
While producing food can be a full-time job, our vendors say participating in the online farmers market saves them time overall. In addition reducing hours wasted preparing food that won’t actually sell, they are able to reach customers without manning a booth at a physical market location.
The online sales model exports much of the labor involved with traditional farmers markets to our staff and volunteers, who pack and distribute products on a weekly basis. This frees our farmers up to do other work, or even enjoy a little relaxation over the weekend.
“Especially during the pandemic, to have an efficient way to bring our produce to the people that really, frankly, would be too time consuming for us to do on our own,” said Red Earth Garden’s Shadden. “It frees us up to do more things out in the field and continue to develop a functional agro-ecological system.”
5. Connecting with the community
The Online Farmers Market began as a way to provide safe access to local food and farm products during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a way in this new pandemic age to stay connected to the community with our food in a contact-free way,” said Molly Schintler of Echollective Farm.
Even as the pandemic begins to subside, Field to Family’s goal to build a stronger community-based food system remains unwavering. The Online Farmers Market continues to create connections between shoppers, farmers and vendors in our region.
“I think it’s great to feel part of the community,” said Valerie Martin, owner of Valerie’s French Cooking. “That’s what I like the most, getting to know people and all of the team.”