Food producers' co-op launching in late May

A long-anticipated plan to create a cooperative for regional farmers and food producers to distribute their goods locally and fresh will come to fruition this spring, according to its organizers.

Farmers at the helm of the bilingual Eastern Ontario Local Food Co-op are now sketching out the details and hosting monthly information sessions with the hopes of bringing together at least 30 to 40 food producers before the launch in late May.

"It's going to make a huge difference in Eastern Ontario," said Sabrina Martinez, the cooperative's founder. "It will make it reasonable for small farmers to work together, and make the food affordable for every family."

Martinez, a farmer and owner of Le Ferme du Ruisseau in Champlain Township, said she has spent two years "hoping and dreaming" of the cooperative. Last summer, she tested the waters with two other farms and the result was a waiting list of interested daycares, restaurants, and caterers.

The essential ingredient was facilitation: a commerce could choose foods from ten different farms on one order, pay with one cheque, and have it delivered fresh weekly.

"It worked so well for us this past summer, getting good money and having the farmers set their own prices," recalled Martinez, noting the cooperative could likely encourage others to develop their farms and extend the season.

Another benefit to farmers is the advantage of working - and promoting their trade - as a group: "Local buyers need to know [about the choices available to them here] but a lot of farmers' marketing skills are not that good. They don't have the time to go and knock on doors."

Updates will be posted on the cooperative's website on a weekly basis, including details about meetings and memberships, as well as a handbook and bylaws.

How the co-op works

The cooperative is not-for-profit and is collectively owned by the participating farmers. A lifetime membership costs $100 and provides each member a vote at assembly meetings. An executive, president, and manager would be elected.

Furthermore, farmers can invest together in bulk purchases of equipment and tools, and the surplus funds generated by the cooperative will be invested in soil improvement, guest speakers, and an eventual operations warehouse.

"The co-op is a support network for the farmer in every way," said Martinez.

Buyers will place their orders online between Friday afternoon and Sunday evening, and farmers would bring in their goods on Tuesday morning. Orders would then be packaged and distributed directly to local businesses, while families and individuals pick up their orders at nearby distribution points every Tuesday evening between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.

"We have our delivery truck now, this thing is happening," laughed Martinez.

A pick-up point has been confirmed on County Road 10, just outside of Vankleek Hill, and another in Monkland. Others would ideally be in Alfred; between Casselman and St-Isidore; and between Alexandria and Vankleek Hill.

A purchaser's membership fee would cost $50, and will be available in May.

Mutual benefit for all involved

Martinez said the cooperative has recently been approached by an Upper Canada District School Board pilot project aimed at bringing nutritious food to its children, and was asked to cater for a breakfast and snack program for four local schools.

"[The program] had never found another organization that could feed that demand," she explained. "It's an amazing project to get our food into local schools."

In addition, a cooperative might encourage the next generation of farmers to stay in the region, one that is currently losing its farmers.

"It would give young people in agriculture a real boost to say, 'I'll stay in Eastern Ontario and make a living being a farmer.'"

Martinez said her source of inspiration was the Oklahoma Food Valley Cooperative, an American organization that has established a mandate for others to follow: "They've been an incredible help, in terms of advice. They've been doing this, day in and day out, for 11 years."

Her other incentive was a little research, which showed that 95 per cent of such cooperatives are in "the black" - in other words, making a profit.

She also plans to hire eight summer students.

Asked how soon things might begin, Martinez replied, "We'd be thrilled if there were 30 to 40 producers by May."

The next information session takes place Tuesday, March 23 at 1 p.m. at the Alfred College campus, 31 St-Paul Street, in Alfred.

For more information or to register, visit www.easternontariolocalfood.org or email info@easternontariolocalfood.org