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  • From: Dan <dan AT citygardenfarms.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] interesting read on CSAs
  • Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:10:11 -0800

Anyone in the OR/WA area should check out FoodHub.  You can request a free sample login that will give you access to their online application for a few days.  It's basically an online marketplace.  It's a website to connect growers with chefs, institutions, whoever wants to buy fresh produce.  It's for any sized grower really.

On 3/8/2010 9:30 PM, WENDY & RANDY GRAY wrote:
1349178881.7290771268112619749.JavaMail.root AT md05.embarq.synacor.com" type="cite">

Hello,

I attended the Oregon Small Farms Conference on 2/27 and the session on marketing your business and products.  At that session there were presentations from three organizations. Gorge Grown Mobile Food Network (a regional market place) where the network has a van and drives to communities that don't have markets.  Local Food Marketplace -founded in Eugene, OR (and sounds like what is being discussed here, and third, Food Hub.org, build by Ecotrust.  All are very interesting and have me considering them and thinking about not doing Saturday markets.

 

Here are links:

Gorge Grown:  http://www.gorgegrown.org/project/mobile-market.cfm

Local Food marketplace:  http://www.localfoodmarketplace.com/LFM/Default.aspx

Food Hub: http://www.ecotrust.org/foodhub/

 

Thought I'd share,

 

Wendy in Oregon
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ryan Platte" <ryan AT bootstrapacres.com>
To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, March 1, 2010 5:21:42 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] interesting read on CSAs

I'm an experienced software developer. I've done PHP and several other languages but have the most experience in Rails. I'm NOT looking for extra volunteer projects (trying to do LESS software and more farming!) but will need some software a bit like this for my own farm-credit scheme and would be delighted to share if I wind up building something.


My best scenario is when someone has a clear idea of something to implement, so perhaps we've got a fighting chance if we join forces, John and Kathryn.

Since software has so many aspects that can be worked on, we talk about "minimal viable products" as the first target delivery. What's the least we can do for a system like this that would be useful, and when would folks need it?

Also: does anyone use existing for-pay software? Thanks for the link to Farmigo. Are there others? Is it any good and how much does it cost? Software is pretty expensive to build -- it's just like market farming, the customer price expectations are often WAY lower than the real costs.

There is an open-source Java desktop app that was started with a USDA grant that could maybe intersect with this effort:

http://code.google.com/p/cropplanning/

Ryan Platte
Bootstrap Acres, Rochester NY
http://bootstrapacres.com/


On Sun, Feb 28, 2010 at 4:52 PM, John Ferree <john AT seldomseenfarm.com> wrote:
I think some collaboration would be awesome.  I don't know what you're feelings are, but there might be an opensource/sourceforge type opportunity?  I'm not a programmer, but have a bit of web design experience. . . with that comes linux, php, database end user experience.  I can outline what I want to do, but not implement it.  I think much of the base is there.  There are various carts out there that do the same thing.  We just need a modified system.

Something that will - allow customization of a base 'bin'
Cutoff customization at a predetermined time each week
Allow people to take vacations from the CSA
Create users/member accounts
Create a credit/debit system
Bill people for ordering extra
Create summary and distribution sheets

But most of all, once it is built. . . we need some committed CSA members to tell us where the bugs are and how to improve it.

I'll see where my friend is at, I think he's just working on an outline of functions. . . and trying to wrap his head around how it is different from a typical online store.

John

Yeah, it is from the Abbey's character, and the lay of our ground Shawnee  ; )


On 2/28/2010 12:28 PM, KAKerby AT aol.com wrote:
Very interesting that you would mention a web-based solution to solve some of the administrative issues.  That's almost verbatim what we'd come up with here as a potential solution too.  I haven't written such a web page yet, and haven't even wrapped my brain around what all would need to be done with such a web page, but it's nice to see someone else thinking along the same lines.  John, are you a programmer as well as grower?  That's the background I come from.  I'd be game to collaborate with you on something like this that we could share with other growers.  Not sure if it's quite as complicated as putting a man on the moon but it might be close.  Nevertheless I'd be game to try.
Kathryn Kerby
Frog Chorus Farm
Snohomish, WA
 


--
Seldom Seen Farm
Danville, IN
317.509.7828

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