Small specialty farms often struggle to get their goods to a large section of consumers and consumers who want to purchase these goods cannot do so conveniently. This scheme aims to give small farmers a large platform and marketing to reach a large consumer base and consumers a convenient way to purchase seasonal goods from a range of locations at once.
Main results / outcomes
Uudenmaan Ruoka is a food hub with local seasonal produce that comes straight from the food producers. Consumers choose the food they want from a range of different farms and food producers from an online platform, pay in advance and choose which hub pickup point and time to collect their goods. This makes it easy for consumers to order local and seasonal food directly from farms and have a convenient way to pick up their goods from a single location. Local farms receive an easy way to access the market and sell goods directly to consumers. Consumers may draw up a contract with a farm and commit a certain amount of money for seasonal goods. This gives the consumer a good price and allows the farm to know in advance what to produce in what quantities.
Practical recommendations
The food hub provides an online platform and the collection and distribution of goods as well as marketing and communications. The local farms sign up to be a part and supply their products as
well as sell ‘contracts’ to consumers. Farmers receive much higher market and direct access to consumers while getting to set their own price for goods. Farms with a limited selection of specialty
goods can be included in a larger shopping and picked up in one location making it more likely for consumers to purchase their goods. Farms receive better marketing and online presence together. The online platform is replicable for other regions so long as there is a similar variety of food producers to represent.
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