One of the laments that we have had since moving to Cleveland is grocery issue. There are few great grocers near us, and while we like the market, the produce often leaves us a little flat. This year I joined a food buying group (kinda like a co-op), and get a monthly supply of nut butter, oil, pasta, dried beans, flour and dried fruits. I try to grow my own veggies and such in the summer, but I seem to have a brown thumb. Needless to say, I was thrilled when we met the folks from Fresh Fork Market at a CIvic Innovation Lab event this morning. Bud was so excited, he wrote this post for me:
A new local company has been created to link consumers with local farmers via the internet. Fresh Fork Market was initially started to enable local restaurants to buy directly from local farmers at wholesale prices and has been very successful. According to Trevor Clatterbuck (from the restaurant side) they have over 40 local farmers participating in the program; fewer in the winter time and more in the summer. These local farmers provide items including grass fed beef and seasonal vegetables and fruits. The service has since broadened to include homeowners who wish to purchase local produce and meats, which is really exciting! I personally adore Cleveland’s landmark Westside Market, but have been disappointed to see very little produce come from local farmers (most of it seems to come from South America). The Fresh Fork Market website even lists farmers who offer organic items! This is a terrific way to support the local economy while obtaining the absolutely freshest ingredients. Although their website, still requires a restaurant name to process the new account, I’m sure if they get enough individuals signing up they will retool the page – I didn’t get freaked out and quit, I just wrote “personal” in the restaurant category. I can’t wait to see what kind of products I’ll be able to buy!
Bob Gavlak is in charge of the supplier/farmer side of Fresh Fork Market. He has provided a list of important notices regarding the program:
1. We only have pick-up/delivery on Fridays. This means that when you want to get an order, it needs to be placed through the system by Wednesday nights at midnight. We need this lead time to make sure the grower or producer can get the product as fresh as possible.
2. On Friday and Saturdays you may notice there isn’t a huge product selection. This is because on Thursdays the inventory for the growers is set to ‘0’ to make sure they go in and update and don’t just leave product up on the site that they may not have anymore.
3. You can pay by credit card through the system (100% safe!) or just bring us a check when you come to pick up your product. If you want to pay by cash or check, simply click the “Pay on Delivery” option while checking out.
4. Delivery is an option, but if an order is below $80.00 there will be a $15.00 delivery charge. If you would like to just stop by and pick up the order, please send me an email and let me know what time you would like to pick it up on Friday. This will make sure someone is in the office.
5. Remember, there is more than just beef on our site! Make sure you check up on different items like eggs, lettuce, other greens, pasta, lamb, goat cheese, and many other products to be added soon!
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