Online Farmers' Market with Blairstown Pickup!

Looking for a WINTER FARMERS' MARKET?

NEED a simple way to purchase a variety of local produce and goods?

Live or Work in proximity to Blairstown?

IF so, we invite you to try our online farmers' market: buy direct from numerous local farmers - and other small businesses offering baked goods and more -without leaving your home!
Order online during our "open shop" hours, then pick up your items on FRIDAYS, between 4:30pm and 7pm in Blairstown, at the ROUTE 94 location of Race Farms, across from the Dairy Queen. Your order will be packed and waiting for you.

DigIN On the Farms' ONLINE Farmers' Market
is ready for shopping!

Visit www.blairstown.locallygrown.net

to browse our farmers' market and order today!

LL Pittenger Farm meats, RACE FARM produce, Best's Fruit Farm apples and cider, The Cupcake Factory's baked goods, Triple Creek Farm and Nursery's potted LIVE CHRISTMAS TREES and so much more!

FIRST PICKUP DATE: Friday, December 5th. 4:30-7pm in Blairstown!
We will host pickup days every other Friday through April!

Everyone gets two trial orders. Then, register for $10.00/year and order as much as you wish with no additional fees! First 5 registered customer's will have their annual fee waived for 2009!

We will change our pickup day to a mid-week schedule to compliment existing weekend farmers' markets in our area come June!

DigIN on the Farm

November 30, 2008 2:04 pm · Link

I went to this site looking for baked goods. Thought what a great idea, however at $33 and $41 a pie, I think I'll stick to baking my own! I didn't really look at the other items they had for sale, maybe they are more reasonably priced.

cincar
December 2, 2008 9:50 pm · Link

My thoughts exactly. I can bake 1/2 dozen pies for that kind of money. I would love to buy from this source, but the prices need to be more realistic.

Anne

December 3, 2008 12:46 pm · Link

yes the prices are too high ...except if your aiming at the more elite clientele in blairstown.....well any way GOOD LUCK

sarah
December 4, 2008 7:25 am · Link

Perhaps you'd like to check out the produce from Best's Fruit Farm and Race Farms, or the Christmas wreaths from Triple Creek?

Or, the meats from LL Pittenger Farms?

We are always looking for more farmers as well!

We already have two potential new vendors who hopefully will commit to the market and be added for the next pickup date, December 19th. Ordering for that pickup will begin Saturday, December 6th at 9am and end Thursday, December 18th at 9am.
We also have pickup locations in nearby towns being planned.

We are aiming to bring locally grown and produced foods to all customers.

While the baked goods are slightly higher per item through the online market than through THE CUPCAKE FACTORY directly, this is a customer convenience fee which helps to keep the market running, as the vendors and the management are spending considerable time and effort in listing products, taking orders, packing and delivering to one pickup site for all products. NO need to run all over to each individual farm or vendor location. online ordering is simple and easy. Sign up for two free trial offers is free, with a $10.00/full year membership required for any orders after the trial period.

So if you want winter produce, a wreath and a pie, it's all waiting for you at pickup!

We hope you will all take a closer look at all of the vendor offerings. We live and work and shop here to. This is a cooperative effort of all area farmers/vendors involved, as well as the market owner/manager (myself).

Thanks, and remember that each vendor represents and sells their own products DIRECTLY TO YOU, just like at a traditional market, but with the added convenience of online advanced ordering and your order boxed and waiting for you at pickup.

DigIN on the Farm

December 4, 2008 12:24 pm · Link

With all due respect to everyones comments regarding prices there are many things you are not taking into consideration that I as a business owner need to. Along with the fact that I have to pay a percentage to the market for listing products I also pay rent, have product liability insurance, use quality products, advertising, packaging, and the taxes I have to pay on the products sold, etc... Being a mother and local resident myself I'm as price conscious as the next person but on occasion we need to sacrafice a little for the quality in a product. I do NOT use any mixes, frozen crusts, etc... Most of our chocolates are imported from various countries. We also work with several local farms to purchase local products to help support our community. I could sacrafice the quality by using frozen fruits & crusts, low end quality spices and chocolates everyone can buy at the supermarket but I decided that I would prefer to have quality in my products that I've developed over the past twenty years along with recipes that were passed to me. I pride myself on working one on one with my customers, the quality in our products and our attention to our customers needs when it comes to allergies and special dietery needs. The higher priced items you see on the market website reflect the market costs of being an all ORGANIC product. If you prefer to deal directly, you also have the option. You can view our website at www.thecupcakefactory.net or email me at jill@thecupcakefactory.net. Thank you for your time.

Jill

December 4, 2008 9:10 pm · Link

Plus a registration Fee! Pay to shop at your store. Get closer to your customers.

Mike
December 8, 2008 7:45 am · Link

I DON'T charge a registration fee, the online market adds a fee onto every product that sells at the market for all the vendors. There are fee's added onto our own prices for the convenience of shopping at the market to customers. That's not my call or my personal prices. I'm not sure if that comment was directed at me or the market.

Jill

December 8, 2008 9:42 pm · Link

I can't wait for the Online Farmers' Market to become available. I think it's an excellent idea, as it allows more freedom to choose where we can shop. Our community is a tremendous resource for locally-grown & made foods; anything that enables access to these goods is more than welcome!

Best of luck to all the vendors.

Paul D.
December 9, 2008 9:51 am · Link

It's already available online at

www.blairstown.locallygrown.net

They opened two weeks ago, I think.

Jill

December 9, 2008 3:03 pm · Link

The online market is up and running. It's obvious that there has been some confusion over how it works.

It is a regular farmers' market, where each vendor/farmer is selling directly to you, setting their own prices and offering only their own products (or with permission from the market manager and in cooperation with other local farms, some products from neighboring farms).

NO brokers, middlemen, etc.

Customers pay a very small convenience fee for the online shopping system, WHICH IS ALREADY INCLUDED IN THE STORE PRICING. There are NO hidden charges. Instead of running around to each vendor location- some of whom are NOT OPENED during the winter months- you get to pickup your order at one convenient spot. If that isn't worth a small surcharge to you, then we encourage you to directly contact each vendor and visit them for your needs.

Our market will bring the products together in one site, from farmers up to about 30 miles away. That does take time and expense, so ....

We ask for a $10.00/year fee per customer (Less than 1.00 month.) There is no commmitment to buy a certain amount, etc. It's like shopping at the grocery store, EXCEPT your food dollars go right back into the farmers' pockets and into the local economy. The $10.00 covers some of the market manager's expenses in making this available in our community. Other online markets either take a large percentage from the grower,or charge a whole lot more to shop to the consumer. I think we are fair and reasonable for the QUALITY and SERVICE we provide.

Again, we all live and work here. We are all neighbors. Neighbors shopping together, getting the best quality products, buying direct from the farmers in a convenient manner.

No corporations, no executives, nothing except farmers and a market manager trying to make this joint venture work for everyone. IF we don't have satisfied customers, we loose as well. And local food looses. The local economy looses. Small ,independent business looses.

If we don't have happy customers, we don't have a job. How much more personal and direct can you get?!

That's the last post from this end. We are up and running and doing our best to meet everyone's needs. Local food is food for everyone. That is and always has been my personal motto, and I've worked extremely hard in the agricultural community for over a decade to make that a reality. We live in a farming community. Purchasing local food should be easy for us- the farms are right here! But for many, many reasons that isn't happening. This market is one way of addressing some of those issues.

We hope that some of you see the value in this and will give us a try.