As Executive Director of PlacerGROWN, increasing sales for farmers in Placer County is on my mind all of the time. How do we make people aware of Placer County’s agricultural side? Once they are aware, how do we persuade them to buy from local farmers? Most importantly, how do we keep them coming once they have given local a chance? These are the kinds of questions I think and, quite frankly, worry quite a bit about. When I was asked to write for this blog I realized I don’t have a lot of answers but I do have quite a few questions. I will probably be writing quite a bit about marketing, merchandising and sales from local farms in an effort to exchange information and to explore some new ways of thinking about the “buy local challenge.”
I have been working in the local agricultural community for almost six years. I had and have a great deal to learn. As one community leader said-“you don’t know enough to know what you don’t know.” And she was right. I came into the Ag world as an enthusiastic consumer; volunteering to cook for the Land Trust dinners and belonging to the local Slow Food group. Eventually I was hired by the Foothill Farmers’ Market Association (FFMA), in part because I had some awareness of the local food movement but, more importantly, because I had experience in running small businesses.
The marriage of those two attributes, a passion for good food and an ability to run a business give me a unique point of view on farms, farming, farmers’ markets, and the economics involved. My perspective grew broader when I was recently named Executive Director of PlacerGROWN.
So what is my unique perspective and why do I go to the trouble of seeking out locally produced food? People might say “well, she’s at the markets all week long, it is easy for her.” It is true; I attend a lot of farmers’ markets. But convenience isn’t what drives me—flavor and quality drive me. I visit farmers’ markets all over the place. I don’t shop at all of them. This may sound “Placer/Nevada County-centric” but I find our markets feature the highest quality produce. Better than the Ferry Plaza (but they do have great food vendors), better than Marin, (though they have great crafters), and certainly better than anything in Sac County (unless I buy from one of our growers who also sells in Sac.) I shop from local growers because the food is consistently more flavorful and of higher quality in general at a great price. It’s like buying from the food equivalent of Nordstrom’s and only paying Macy’s sale prices for it.
So how do we find more customers like me? By getting them to try local food and then hooking them with the quality and flavor so that they don’t want to buy anything else. Grocery stores are for buying cereal and milk. Leave the rest to local farmers and ranchers. More on this subject in six weeks…
Get Fresh, Buy Local, buy Placer/NevadaGROWN!