Local Foods Plymouth 2006 Summary Report

A Collaborative Project of PAREI and D Acres Organic Farm

History of Local Foods Plymouth

Due to a mutual interest in energy conservation and renewable energy, staff at the D Acres Organic Farm and Educational Homestead joined the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative (PAREI). At PAREI’s, January 2006 Energy Exchange, a networking meeting for members, various PAREI members discussed the need to support local agriculture. Members saw that supporting local agriculture would lead to reduced energy consumption by reducing the number of miles food travels.

D Acres proposed an online purchasing system for locally-grown foods as a way to promote a viable local food network. Such a system would allow farmers and emerging businesses (currently home-scale gardeners) to inform the public about what products are available any given week. Buyers could then purchase the items online prior to the food being harvested and delivered to the LFP table at the Plymouth Farmers’ Market. Information from several farms would be updated each week on one website, thus allowing the consumer to order many items at once and pick up all the items at one location. Farmers benefit by saving labor and money by knowing exactly how much pre-bought produce to harvest. Buyers benefit by knowing exactly what products will be waiting for them at the market. Moreover, buyers can order a variety of products through one-stop shopping, save time and energy by reducing trips to distant farm stands, support the local economy, and eat locally-grown food.

At the suggestion of North Country Resource, Conservation and Development, the group decided to apply for a Mini Grant from the NH Department of Agriculture. Within a month, PAREI received that $1,000 grant to cover start-up costs; several months later, they received a second grant for $3,500 from USDA Rural Development to provide technical assistance to farmers and to evaluate the project. A budget of $4,800, (including $300 from advertisers) combined with many hours of in-kind services from the staff and volunteers of D Acres and PAREI, made Local Foods Plymouth a reality.

Weekly Project Schedule

Monday

· AM: Farmers send product availability, prices, and descriptions via e-mail or phone to the website administrator by 10 AM.

· Noon: Administrator updates product lists and enables website for buying.

· Afternoon: buyers receive an e-mail stating that the site is “live for ordering” and that they may begin purchasing items.

Tuesday

· Buyers are able to log onto the website and pre-purchase products until midnight, using PayPal or a credit card.

Wednesday

· AM: Administrator disables website and sends list of products ordered to each farmer/grower.

Thursday

· Farmers harvest pre-ordered products and drop off at Plymouth Farmers’ Market from 2:30-3:00 PM.

· LFP volunteers check farmer delivery against list and store products in coolers.

· 3-6 PM: Buyers pick up pre-ordered goods.

· 6-??: Buyers enjoy fresh, locally-grown food!

Monthly

· Farmers are paid monthly for the products sold (less 4.6% PayPal fees) or weekly if they choose to be paid by PayPal (no farmer chose this option).

Overall Participation in Local Foods Plymouth

Buyer participation in Local Foods Plymouth exceeded our goals. A total of 75 different buyers generated 338 orders throughout the 15-week season—an increase of 50% over our objective of 50 buyers. Buyers were primarily generated from the membership of PAREI and D Acres. Project marketing took place through online membership newsletters, the Plymouth State University (PSU) faculty and staff email distribution list, an initial press release, and by word-of-mouth and “coffee shop chats.” No mailings or flyers were distributed to market the project, other than information available at PAREI, D Acres, and PSU spring events.

Farmers were recruited through the Plymouth Farmers’ Market meetings and one-on-one outreach, and by word-of-mouth. The project’s objective—to recruit 12 farmers—was met. A total of 12 different farmers participated in LFP throughout the season; however, actual weekly participation ranged from 8 to 11 farmers.

Once farmers were recruited, volunteers were paired with each farmer to offer technical assistance as needed. For example, farmer “buddies” helped farmers set up email or PayPal accounts (if necessary), advised farmers of deadlines, and discussed product selection, pricing, and description. Volunteers were also available to help farmers deliver goods when necessary. As the project progressed, farmers settled nicely into the routine of emailing or calling in their products for sale, checking for what was sold via email, and delivering their products on time and in good shape. (One farmer without a computer relied on a volunteer to deliver a hard copy of goods sold.) Giving the farmers the flexibility to list or not list products on any given week was well-received by small farmers and growers.

Local Foods Plymouth Buyer Survey

An online link to the Local Foods Plymouth (LFP) Buyer Survey was sent to 213 contacts on the LFP mailing list, and hard copies were available at the Plymouth Farmers’ Market. In all, 52 participants—or 24.4% of all those contacted—responded to the Local Foods Plymouth Buyer Survey, although not all respondents answered every question.

Roughly 30% of buyers participated in LFP almost every week, while 25% participated in LFP once or twice over the season (Figure 1). Nonparticipants (9.8%) indicated several reasons, the most prevalent of which was an inconvenient location.

The majority of LFP buyers (80%) were female, and 64% of buyers came from two-person households. Half of LFP buyers resided in three towns: Plymouth (30%), Campton (10%), and Holderness (10%). The remainder of buyers resided within roughly a 30-mile radius of Plymouth. Table 1 shows the distribution of buyers.

Figure 1: Buyers separated into two dominant groups regarding frequency of participation in Local Foods Plymouth.

Table 1: Distribution of buyers by town of residence during the 2006 season.

Town of Residence	Percentage	Town of Residence	Percentage
Plymouth	30	Bristol	4
Campton	10	Dorchester	4
Holderness	10	Canterbury	2
Rumney	8	Groton	2
Wentworth	8	Lincoln	2
Bridgewater	6	Moultonboro	2
Thornton	6	Warren	2
Ashland	4

Buyer Motivations for Participation in Local Foods Plymouth

In order to gauge what prompted participation in LFP, buyers were asked to rate how strongly they agreed with a number of statements. Responses—“strongly agree,” “agree,” “neutral,” “disagree,” and “strongly disagree”—were assigned point values ranging from 5 to 1, respectively. The total number of points for each statement was then divided by the number of respondents; higher numbers correlated with stronger agreement with the statement.

Although individual buyers were generally motivated by several factors, buyers as a group were most strongly motivated by the desire for money to remain in the local economy (Table 2, Figure 2). Buyers, as a whole, were also motivated by “taste and/or health benefits of fresh food,” concerns over the distance food travels, preferences for naturally- or organically-grown food, and a desire to retain agricultural use of local land. In contrast, buyers were generally less strongly motivated by the convenience of online shopping, not having to exchange money at the time of purchase, personally knowing the growers, and concerns over food security (Table 2). These concerns indicate that participants are motivated, to a certain extent, by the mission and goals of both collaborating organizations. Concerns regarding naturally- or organically-grown food and maintaining viable local agriculture, as well as the desire to reduce the transportation impact of food production all ranked in the top five.

Table 2: Motivations for participation in Local Foods Plymouth, ranked by buyers as described in text. Numbers in parentheses indicate the average response (Neutral = 3.00).

1. Want money to stay in local economy (4.84)

2. Prefer naturally or organically-grown food (4.76)

2. To reduce the mileage food travels (4.76)

2. Health/taste benefits of fresh food (4.76)

3. Want local land to be kept in agriculture (4.60)

4. Desire to know origin of food (4.55)

5. Know the growers/farmers (3.69)

6. Concerns about food security (3.62)

7. Convenience of online shopping (3.58)

8. Not having to exchange money at pickup (3.35)

Figure 2: Several highly-ranked motivations are contrasted with a less highly-ranked factor (“Convenience of online shopping”). Numbers above each column indicate the weighted rank score, as described in the text (Neutral = 3.00).

Local Foods Plymouth’s Impact on the Community

One of the goals of Local Foods Plymouth was to build greater awareness of local products and producers. The survey indicates that this goal was accomplished. For instance, 61% of survey respondents indicated that Local Foods Plymouth brought them to the Plymouth Farmers’ Market for the first time; 73% of these first-time visitors also shopped at other vendors at the Farmers’ Market. Similarly, 98% of respondents agreed with the statement that “I am more familiar with the farmers in our area due to Local Foods Plymouth” (Figure 3). The survey also demonstrated that many LFP buyers purchased from local farmers for the first time. Out of 41 respondents who answered “from which farms did you purchase for the first time?”, 145 first-time purchases were made between all 12 LFP farmers. For instance, Owens’ Truck Farm, which has been in operation for over 20 years, had 8 respondents indicate that they had purchased from his farm for the first time.

Figure 3: Buyer responses to several questions regarding visits to the local Farmers’ Market in relation to Local Foods Plymouth.

The primary goal of Local Foods Plymouth was to facilitate local purchasing, thus making it competitive with conventional food sourcing. Several buyers indicated that the program did make buying locally a viable option. One participant commented that, “I exhaust myself searching for fresher food. . . . I do not have time or gas money to visit all of these farms on my own. I could not have had the locally grown, wide selection of food on my table if your program had not brought it to me.” Another noted that “prices were competitive with those in the supermarket, given the quantity and quality of what I received.”

Figure 4: Sales trends throughout Local Foods Plymouth’s 15-week season.

This convenience allowed buyers to contribute to the local economy; although weekly sales ranged from $238.89 to $588.25, mean weekly sales were $453.69 (Figure 4). Overall sales for the 15-week season totaled $6,805.35. Almost all income generated by Local Foods Plymouth remained in the local economy; farmers received 95% of the total sales generated. In other words, for each dollar spent by LFP buyers, participating farmers and growers received 95 cents, in contrast to the national

average of about seven cents received by farmers for each consumer dollar spent on agricultural products¹.

Moreover, buyer responses show that many LFP participants made changes in their buying habits as a result of the program. In response to the statement, “I buy less food from the supermarket,” 39% of buyers indicated that “I do this a lot more as a result of LFP,” while 29% agreed that “I do this a little more as a result of LFP.

Exploring Buyer Definitions of “Local Food”

Products offered through LFP this year came from within a 30-mile radius of Plymouth. Buyers were surveyed at the end of the LFP season about their definition of locally-grown food, as well as their feelings regarding sourcing of multiple-ingredient or value-added items such as baked goods or cheese. Buyers were advised that their responses to these questions would help determine where food for next year’s program would be sourced.

a

Buyers were split regarding a definition of locally-grown food (Figure 5a); nearly equal percentages of buyers identified locally-grown foods as originating “within New Hampshire” (24%), “within New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine” (22%), and “within 45 miles” (20%). Responses for “other” varied; therefore, they are included in Table 3. These data suggest that the range selected for this season may be too strict and, in future years, LFP may consider pursuing additional farmers and growers from a wider geographic range in order to meet buyer requests for expanded product selection (see comments and suggestions in Appendix).

b

In contrast, a majority of buyers (59%) stated that only the major ingredients in multiple-ingredient items such as baked goods need come from local sources. (Figure 5b). For approximately one-third of buyers, the source of the ingredients does not matter; that the product is locally-made is acceptable.

These responses may help LFP coordinators to determine the geographic scope of products offered through LFP. Through survey comments, buyers most often requested local cheeses and other dairy products, although organic poultry was also in demand.

Table 3: “Other” responses for defining locally-grown food.

· Local = w/in 30 mi, but I think it would be cool to have foods w/in New England, too.

· I generally consider local within 30 miles but I would also consider NH local as the 2^nd tier.

· Within NH and from VT north of Concord and from VT east of Barre.

· Within about 45 miles, but if there are only items within a broader area, then I would consider that fine too. But give preference to closer farms.

· Within NH and VT

· Within about 60 miles generally, but some products from NH, VT, & ME would qualify. Durable goods from anywhere in New England or even eastern NY would be fine.

· I would prefer to rank this answer—‘30 miles’ is best, but ‘within NH’ is much more acceptable than, say, California!!!

· I guess I think 50 miles but don’t have problem if vendor from NH or Vermont for things not grown in immediate area. Not really interested in ‘New England’

· Within New Hampshire and the closely bordering towns of Vermont.

Perhaps the greatest indication of the success of Local Foods Plymouth, however, is the loyalty it has inspired among buyers. Survey respondents (n=49) were unanimous in their agreement with the statement, “I would like Local Foods Plymouth to operate again next year.” Similarly, 96% of respondents also indicated that they would participate in Local Foods Plymouth year-round (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Buyers indicated continued support for future LFP seasons.

Contact Information

Local Foods Plymouth

Website: lfp.dacres.org

Project Coordinators:

Sandra Jones, Co-Director

Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative: Preparing Our Community for a Lower-Energy World”

190 Main Street

Plymouth, NH 03264

603.536.5030

sandra@plymouthenergy.org

Abby Holm, Farm Manager

D Acres of New Hampshire: Nonprofit Organic Farm and Educational Homestead

PO Box 98

Rumney, NH 03266

603.786.2366

abby@dacres.org

Report Written by:

Melissa Greenawalt-Yelle

melissadilla@together.net
APPENDIX

A. General Buyer Comments for Local Foods Plymouth

• It would be nice if you offered cheeses, honey (on a regular basis), sprouted bread, poultry. A downtown location would be great. Maybe a Saturday would be convenient for some and more festive. Music. Street performers. Art.

• The one product I wanted was spaghetti squash. :) Overall, it was a delightful experience. The food was spectacular, the people kind, quick and efficient, and the website was super easy to use.

• The whole process, from browsing, to purchasing, to pick up is very straight forward and convenient. It takes be about 20 minutes each week to complete my order - including pickup. Summer is a busy time for me, so I really appreciate the ease of use and the speedy transactions. Suggestion: see if we can get cloth grocery bags made for sale with a LFP logo and logos/names of participating farmers.

• Two different pick-up days I personally think a downtown Plymouth location makes more sense. perhaps two different pickup locations one each day if two days or you could specify on your order the location some pre cooked food that you just have to reheat at home would be neat.

• First of all I think that all of you have done a wonderful job with this project!!! Congratulations. I would love to see more meat options. Specifically organic chicken If you do use this website again I think that there needs to be less wording when checking out. Sometimes I forget to check the agreement statement at the end which frustrates me :)

• Prices were competitive with those in the supermarket, given the quantity and quality of what I received; I would really like to see the farmers' market move closer to downtown Plymouth; In general, it was a treat each week to go onto the site and see what was new. Shopping with the seasons, for me, really made me feel more in touch with my food supply.

• I still find the Website a little hard to read because the products don't have a very clear border around each. I told Sandra as well but it just made me work a little harder to figure out which product I was choosing.

• If you could supply some quality goat cheese at a reasonable price ($10-$12/lb for hard cheese) that would be terrific.

• I did not experience this but several folks going to the market reported finding the parking helpers rude or brusque. That seems too bad and maybe some education is needed for those volunteers. One other thing I found was that if I ordered on line - I did not browse! That's probably not a good thing for the other farmers. There might have been some impulse item I could/would/should have bought but I guess I felt I had 'done' my shopping on line. something to think about I guess.

• Can we get Sandwich Creamery involved and add some local cheese to the mix?

• I think the one thing that is needed is better descriptions of the amounts and or sizes of items. The baked goods especially lacked this...how big is a large loaf?? - That can be different for everyone.

• Would love to see local cheezes such as goat cheese, butter, organic chicken, pork, and beef. There were a few surprises - which comes with electronic shopping - such as quantity or size. Please elaborate on the product as much as possible.

• Sometimes the product quality was not consistent, in particular the farm which produced strawberry/rhubarb jam, the dog biscuits and bread. The first time I bought the jam it was excellent. The second time it was hard as a rock and I had to throw it out. The same farm produced bread which was inconsistent - the first loaf was excellent - the last loaf was soaked with water and I had to throw it out with the jam. The dog buiscuits were burned and I threw these away too. Too expensive to be inconsistent in quality. Anyway, I think that quality control products being sold is imperative! If I was a visitor to the area purchasing these items I would not have been very impressed and probably would not have come back. The vegetables, flowers, eggs, meat were all EXCELLENT and for the quantity we received the price was too low! Variety, quality, diversification are all aspects which will help LFP skyrocket to even greater success. Keep up the great work.

• The entire program worked for me, it was easy, convenient, and fun. Maybe offer bundles, such as a 'salad Bundle' or 'dinner bundle' that might include veggies, salad and bread. Or a 'sunday Breakfast bundle' with cinnamon bread and fruit.

• Regional produce(ME, VT, NH, MA) is good and acceptable, but local produce is the best. Given the geographic variations (and weather variations) around NH I consider local to be somewhat far afield. Still, a tomato grown in Concord and a tomato grown in Littleton would be supporting local economy, and certainly supporting local farmers (who are few and far between and need our business to survive.

• local dairy products would be great! Perhaps going to a wider area?

• Would like to see spaghetti squash, cheese, soap, more baked goods and more canned food such as salsa, relish and jams. Loved the weekly schedule - able to get into a routine with the program. Being able to return moldy bread was a problem. Didn't feel like bugging the farmer.

• It was a disadvantage to have to go up Highland Street this year due to the construction. I did not like the dirt lot because my car got dirty while I shopped. I didn't like having to use paypal. I did not like Thursday for the day - I would prefer earlier in the week, so I could have the breads and veggies for the weekday meals.

• Unfortunately we weren't able to take advantage of the program this year. We do buy from Chris Owens and from John Perkins as much as possible! I think the program is a great idea and hope to participate more next year.

• you guys did an awesome job this year!!!

• Some products I had not used like Kale - and guess I have to think more about recipes for seasonal produce I'm just not used to..

• I would like to see D acres put the vegetables & fruit out on the table. Set up neatly in order so that the public would be able to see what is available for sale.I approched the stand at one of my visits and nothing was out to see. All was in insulated cartons or already spoken for.

• It would be nice to have more than one pick up spot. Maybe have two pick up spots: one on Thursday (or whatever day the farmer's market is) and one day on the weekend at a convenient spot- maybe near campus to get college kids involved. The farmer's market needs to be moved to a better spot and have better times + more vendors. I sent my mother to pick up my stuff once and she didn't even know there was a church there. It's too far off the beaten path.

• I will check it out next year for the first time. Thanks for your good work.

• different venue - perhaps closer to down town as you will get more business

• I already miss this program and wish that it could continue throughout the year. Helping get fresh local produce into my family's meals has improved our quality of life by far. I exhaust myself searching for fresher food. I like the online ordering. It saves me a lot of time. I do not have time or gas money to visit all of these farms on my own. I could not have had the locally grown, wide selection of food on my table if your program had not brought it to me. Thank you. Improvements? Honestly, I think the program is great and have been so happy with it. I would like to see more fruit and maybe some fresh chickens? I am interested in canning and storing more, so if there were good deals on bulk items in the fall, I would buy them.

B. Buyer Comments for Farmers and Growers

• They were great. Keep growing.

• You guys are great! Thank you soooooooo much for such wonderful products.

• It was an awesome trial run- and I loved the little 'free samples' that I got from a couple of farmers!

• Keep Participating

• Beautiful produce; thank you for your enthusiasm--and for doing what you do!

• GREAT FOOD! I also love the packaging and wonder whether they would like the egg cartons or other durable containers back? Maybe there could be big 'drop' bin that wouldn't make it too cumbersome for us or them.

• I got a wonderful herb garden in a planter (MacDonalds?) at the Primavera Farmer's Market that was a great value and lasted all summer putting out herbs. A great deal. The Montpelier's Farmer's market has some prepared food to eat out-of-hand - that may encourage buying - I don't know. It makes things more festive, I think.

• I was disappointed with the baked goods I tried from each vendor I sampled.

• I would have loved to purchase more things for winter storage... dried beans, any grains?,...

• Great job. Wonderful produce.

• Specify size of vegetables, zuchini, for exammple.

• Quality control is IMPERATIVE but on the whole our local participating farmers and individuals did a really wonderful job facilitating us shoppers.

• I can't wait for next year, I loved this idea.

• They are all hard working folks, and are providing a surprising range of very high quality produce. How can we help then to be year round producers for us???

• Hang out now and then to meet the buyers at the LFP table. Better descriptions of produce as it changes from week to week due to growing season. Label produce with farm name so people are reminded from where it comes.

• I thought they were all friendly, helpful, and very pleasant to deal with. Thank you for taking the trouble to sit out in the sun or rain and wait for us shoppers.

• great job considering the weather we had

• Must admit I like having the baked goods and flowers added to the produce. Nice to be able to get pies and other treats just before weekend when company coming.

• Keep up the good work. fresh vegetables taste so much better. Others like myself think so too as I know they keep coming back.

• I wish there were more baked goods that were a little less healthy. D Acres is great, but when I look for baked goods I'm looking for fattening, sugar & fat filled stuff like Moulton's & Longridge Farm sell. From Carol's comments on NHPR (Perkin's Farm), maybe it needs to be easier for the larger, busier farms to utilize. You would have gotten more people if you had her corn on the site. More potted plants. I love the pepper plant I got from D Acres.

• I enjoyed each and every purchase from all of the farms and greatly appreciate their participation in this program. I would not have been able to purchase from them otherwise and dont know where most of them are even now. My family is healthier and I feel more confident in the food that I prepare for them using quality ingedients. I especially love the organic colorful eggs and fresh herbs.