A collaborative local food network is taking shape to keep the local economy alive. Renee Delaney has been working on this model long before the Covid19 crisis but accelerated the launch because she felt that local businesses and farmers were in need of immediate support with social distancing protocols that may escalate given expert projections for the coming weeks and economic impact it may have. She was also concerned for people having to go in search of food when they are advised to stay home.
With that in mind, a food hub launched as a collaborative network of local food and goods with delivery built into the model. A Crowd funding campaign set to launch this week to raise funds to finish kitchen construction and production distribution area that has been developing over the last several weeks.
The model has a Zero waste element and offers one stop shopping for Multi vendors with multi product offerings.
At https://Localgrowth.ca farm shares will be made available with baskets of food for pick up or to the door delivery. With many large kitchen venues temporarily shut down, farmers are left with massive volumes of unsold perishable inventories like fruits, vegetables and meats. This farm share model enables farmers and other small businesses to sell directly to the public, giving Niagara residents a way to shop locally, without having to leave their home.
Customers are able to order goods from a variety of vendors and the site coordinates a one time seemless weekly to the door delivery. Besides fresh and dry goods including meat, dairy, sundry and fresh produce, local prepared meals will also be offered.
Vendors easily register online and list what they have for sale and site the takes 10% from total and $5 delivery fees per vendor ie billed to the customer. The main goal with this farm share is to keep local distribution safe and local delivery drivers employed with the community coming together in this time of need.
Renee Delaney says it’s easy to count our blessings in Niagara. ‘We are situated in the best place in Canada for this to happen because we can grow our own food, and already do but farmers need our help. We need to invest in our community when we need it the most. Small Scale Farmers were built for this. The website is already ready. Now we come together to distribute local food to our community. We built it together, we’re ready.”
Farmers and vendors can register here: https://smallscalefarms.ca/
