Market Mobile
Starts
Top 5 Sellers This Month
  1. Cheese (cow)
  2. Tomatoes
  3. Milk (cow)
  4. Potatoes
  5. Corn
Top 5 Producers This Month
  1. Schartner Farms Exeter, RI
  2. Narragansett Creamery Providence, RI
  3. Confreda Greenhouses & Farms Hope, RI
  4. Cooks Valley Farm Wrentham, MA
  5. Baffoni's Poultry Farm Johnston, RI
Meet the farmers & producers...
Who's Buying Local with
Market Mobile
IN RHODE ISLAND
    Bristol CountyKent CountyNewport CountyProvidence CountyWashington CountyIN MASSACHUSETTS
    Local 365 Initiative
    Farm Fresh RI is rebuilding a year-round food system driven by the needs of Rhode Island farmers and eaters. Our Local 365 goals:
    • Expand local farm production.
    • Increase efficiency of processing, distribution, sales.
    • Increase number of outlets to buy/eat local foods.
    • Foster and support new class of businesses built around local foods.
    How do we get to Local 365?
    Better Farm-to-Biz Delivery
    From 30 Participating Farms & Producers
    to Chefs, Grocers, Hospitals, Schools
    on 1 Delivery Truck and Invoice

    Next Delivery: Thu 9/2/2010
    Go to
    Market Mobile
    ordering site.

    You may be asked to log in
    or to create a new account.
    Chefs, Grocers, Hospitals & Schools:
    Order online for Thursday delivery or pickup in Pawtucket
    • Order due: Mon 8/30
    Deliveries to:
    Providence, Newport, Tiverton, East Bay, Narragansett, West Bay,
    Boston, Jamaica Plain


    Farmers & Food Producers:
    Bring orders to Hope Artiste Village
    • Price List due: Sun 8/29
    • Orders emailed: Tue 8/31
    THANKS A HALF-MILLION: Market Mobile tops $1/2 Million of local food in our first 79 weeks!
    In the first half of 2010 our farms have already sold as much food as during the entire 2009 pilot year sales total of $225,000. That all happened during the off-season (January to June).

    In the first year and a half of Market Mobile, we have delivered food one day a week from 35 local farms and producers to 95 customers in the Providence, Newport and Narragansett areas. In January 2010, we moved our warehouse to a larger space in Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket and this Summer 2010 we will install walk-in refrigerators and freezers to meet our enthusiastic customers' demand this summer.

    It's a lot of local food, and an incredible boon to local agriculture and to the freshness of menus and produce aisles across RI. And it's an incredible step towards the kind of food distribution system we need to sustain the health of our farms, our environment and our communities.

    Funding for Market Mobile has come from AmeriCorps VISTA, RI DEM Division of Agriculture, USDA SARE, the US Small Business Administration (American Recovery & Reinvestment Act) and Urban Smart Growth. We're thrilled that based on average RI income, these 2010 sales equate to 15 new local jobs – on and off the farm – being created thanks to the commitment of the chefs, schools and grocers. Pretty amazing for a brand new program. Thank you for making it happen!

    Here's how Market Mobile works

    Buyers: for more info please contact Hannah at (401) 312-4250. We are eager to hear your feedback! or hannah@farmfreshri.org.

    Farmers: for more info see our 2010 vendor application.

    Timeline of the Market Mobile program

    Inspired by the seasons, fresh flavors and face-to-face relationships with producers, many chefs prefer to purchase locally. However, many lament the fact that getting local food isn't always easy. Chefs cannot spend a lot of time away from the kitchen driving directly to the farms to pick up various orders. Farmers would love to sell to more restaurants, groceries and schools, but do not always have the time and labor available to make deliveries. That's why in 2009 Farm Fresh piloted a new program called Market Mobile, to facilitate buying relationships between RI producers and business buyers and institutions. Market Mobile has been hugely successful for farmers and for customers, and so the program continues to develop in 2010.

    January to May 2009
    Market Mobile is a pooled farm-to-business delivery system that is driven by the needs of farmers and buyers. Market Mobile delivered the wide variety of goods available from 22 local producers at the Wintertime Farmers’ Market to chefs, schools and groceries. It was possible thanks to collaboration with the RI Department of Health, RI DEM Division of Agriculture and Narragansett Creamery. Orders were placed on Wednesdays and then sorted and delivered from the Wintertime Farmers' Market on Saturdays. The first weekly order was January 10, 2009. Market Mobile began during the winter season to reduce logistical variables during the pilot. For the winter pilot, we capped the number of buyers (delivery sites) at 10-12, all in Providence.

    June 2009
    We transitioned to order days on Mondays and delivery days on Thursdays so that Market Mobile works better for chefs' schedules. Orders were sorted and delivered from a warehouse in East Providence. Deliveries this month were limited to Providence to ensure quality service during this transition period. Orders minimums were upped to $100 for delivery ($60 for pickup), but otherwise there is no fee for delivery.

    July 2009
    We began delivering to Newport and East Bay at the start of July and then began Narragansett and West Bay deliveries on July 16.

    January 2010
    Our warehouse space is now in Pawtucket at Hope Artiste Village, site of the Wintertime Farmers Market. The space now has dedicated cold, freezer and dry storage for Market Mobile.

    April 2010
    We began delivering to the Boston area, including customers along the Rt. 95 corridor.

    July 2010
    We are installing walk-in refrigerators and freezers and a cold packing room to meet the four-fold increase in demand this summer. As startup grants that funded the first months of the Market Mobile program ended, the % of sales we retain to cover the costs of the program increased from 10 to 15% to closer match true operational costs.

    Market Mobile goals

    Berkshire Berkshire Berkshire CISA CISA CISA Litchfield New Milford Wilton East Granby Hartford New Haven Putnam Willimantic New London Providence South Kingstown Newport Leominster Worcester Oxford Framingham Lowell Boston Essex Mansfield South Shore South Coast MA Cape Cod Marthas Vineyard Nantucket