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Friday, January 13, 2012

Farmers Markets Farm2Work: Bringing the farmers market to where you are

Posted by Kat Robinson on Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 12:17 AM

FARM FRESH: Eggs from Tammy Sues Critters in Sherwood.

Kat Robinson
FARM FRESH: Eggs from Tammy Sue's Critters in Sherwood.

Love the farmers market but can’t seem to make time for it in your schedule? There’s a great option available where the farmers market can be delivered right to you — at work, even!

I’ve been watching the development of Farm2Work, a project started in Diane Rose’s home and which has grown exponentially in the past several months. It’s providing a direct link between customers and farmers.

ITS IN THE BAG: Farm2Work orders are printed, added to bags and filled.

Kat Robinson
IT'S IN THE BAG: Farm2Work orders are printed, added to bags and filled.

It’s a great idea… farmers and meat producers from Central Arkansas sign up for the project and get their products on a website. Customers look at the website and choose what they want. The market opens on Friday at 10 a.m. and closes on Monday at 7 p.m. The orders are then sent to the farmers, who fulfill them and get them to Farm2Work. They’re distributed on Wednesday morning to several places — including UAMS, UALR and eggshell kitchen company.

Kat Robinson

Sounds simple, right? Well, if you think about it, it really is — and it’s very direct. Diane tells me that some farmers actually wait to pick the vegetables and fruit they’ve sold until they get the order. That means they pick it Tuesday or even early Wednesday morning and it’s at your place of work Wednesday mid-morning. Can you get fresher than that without growing your own?

MEAT: Small pasture raised and organic from Farm Girls Natural Foods.

Kat Robinson
MEAT: Small pasture raised and organic from Farm Girls Natural Foods.

It’s not just produce, though. Farm2Work has a number of partners, such as Ratchford Farm, Farm Girl Natural Foods and Garners Grassfed Meats for meat, Indian Bayou Milling Company for rice, Sharea Soup and Tammy Sue’s Critters and Tenderpopt Gourmet Popcorn. They’re always accepting more partners — in fact, if you have an operation and want to join in, send Diane a message at info@farm2work.com.

WHERE ELSE: Can you get unrendered pig fat delivered to your home?

Kat Robinson
WHERE ELSE: Can you get unrendered pig fat delivered to your home?

It’s a pretty big operation, and right now it’s being run by Diane and just a couple of others. I can see this growing big. I cannot imagine in this day and age, with the technology we have and the information we have learned, why we shouldn’t take advantage of the opportunity to eat locally grown and raised foods that haven’t been subjected to over-processing and chemical intervention. Go check out the website.

And if your place of work doesn’t have delivery set up, you have a couple of choices — pester them about joining Farm2Work, or set your order for a pick-up point.

Tags: Farm2Work, farmers market, delivery

        
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Comments (5)

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It looks to be exactly what Arkansas Sustainability Network has been doing for a few years now: http://www.littlerock.locallygrown.net/
Many of the same farmers, too.

But delivery- that's a great idea.

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Posted by hillbillypharmacist on 01/13/2012 at 12:30 PM

More options for local growers to get their products out is always a good thing!

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Posted by EY on 01/13/2012 at 12:46 PM

We;ve been enjoying meeting a few farmers at a local parking lot every Saturday morning, except when Farmer's Market is happening, for about 2 years. We get fresh eggs each Saturday, the produce of the week (down to spinach and a few herbs now).

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Posted by eLwood on 01/14/2012 at 10:34 PM

Farm2Work uses the same familiar software and many of the same growers as ASN. However, F2W allows the order to be picked up at various points around Little Rock (Eggshells & Kitchen Co., Trinity Cathedral) in the middle of the week. Or, if you work at UAMS, UALR, Blue Cross Blue Shield, or, ABC Financial, F2W will deliver to your office.

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Posted by Diane Rose on 01/16/2012 at 10:07 AM

I use Farm2Work at UAMS - you just pick out your healthy choices at your desk (while you aren't tempted by the endcaps at the grocery) and it just shows up at your office! Diane and the others are SO nice. Since I'm on a special dietary program, they know what I might want, and give me a heads up. It's a GREAT service! Thank you!

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Posted by LRJewel on 01/17/2012 at 8:57 AM

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