Something Neat and New and Weird

Something Neat and New and Weird

Howdy market friends,

I think there’s something neat and new and weird going on here. There are other farmers’ markets, and other places to find local food on the web, but I can’t think of another “online” market quite like this one.

Maybe it’s a collection of nitty gritty details coming together that makes our Dufferin Grove Farmers’ Market web store a unique sum of its parts. And parsley. Details like:

  • a system that lets you shop for veggies that are still in the ground and bread that hasn’t been baked yet
  • solid plans and practices that protect everyone’s health, privacy, and access
  • a homegrown and market-run e-commerce platform built from open source projects
  • strawberries
  • the absolute finest farmers, vendors, and food to be found
  • a dedicated and skilled operations team executing a finely honed plan
  • an enthusiastic, engaged, and highly supportive collection of customers

Of course the heart of this market is a Venn diagram union of the last three items making a big circle called “people”.

(“Sure Peter, the thing that makes this market special is people. No other market has people. And thanks for the high school math flashback.”)

These are the people in your neighbourhood building, running, and using every step and detail of the process of distributing local food. Every detail from the website’s privacy policy to the packing depot’s bagging system.

We started out trying to cope with a bleak situation but have ended up building something new and interesting.

Online Farmers' Market Bags on a Pew

No new vendors this week, but two improvements:

Gift Certificates, Store Credit, & Coupons

We’ll be rolling this out gradually. Eventually we’ll offer loyalty rewards, specials, discounts on delivery and food, and more. This weekend you can buy and share or donate any number of $20 gift certificates. We’ll also start offering market credit as a default alternative to refunds.

 

Quick View Lightboxes

When scrolling through the growing lists of everything (or “recently added”, “popular”, or “surprise”), clicking on a product’s name or image no longer teleports you far away from your position in the list. A small change, but one several people have asked for and which should make shopping easier.

 

On the food front, the wondrous moment has arrived…. STRAWBERRIES are available in abundance! If you want flats, we recommend picking them up, but we can also deliver them for an extra delivery charge because of the care and space required.

 

— Peter Wills, Anne Freeman, & the Market Crew

Peter Wills is a web developer, former resident of St Clarens Ave, and farm husband on Knuckle Down Farm.

 

 

Online Farmers Market Operations Depot

 

Photo Credits: Calla McInnes