Last week, we tried out something a little different. We weren't doing the Fredericksburg market (we're only doing that every other week this summer), but we didn't want people to lose out on their local organic vegetables for the week. So we emailed our customers, told them what we've got, and took orders that way. Thankfully, those of you who took advantage of this told us how much you liked the new system!
This is great for several reasons. One, market sales have been diminishing steadily over the past few years, not just for us, but for farmers everywhere. Big ag farms are taking over farmers markets, too, which is sad. A lot of what you see at markets these days isn't local, isn't organic, isn't from small family farms. It's the same produce you could get at Aldi or Food Lion, only it looks local or organic, because it's under a tent outside. That kind of competition means that real organic food is becoming a narrower and narrower margin at markets.
Also, markets are a ton of work. You spend all week harvesting and cleaning the very best produce, then transport it all an hour away, and hope it sells. Sometimes it does, but often we bring a lot back. It's a lot of man (and woman) power for one day of unpredictable sales. Plus, we have to get up either at 4am (for Williamsburg) or 5am (for Fredericksburg), which means our Friday and Saturday nights are severely compromised ;-)
Anyway, this new Buyers' Club is looking like a really attractive option. We know exactly how much we have to harvest, and we know it's not going to waste. We can sleep in on Saturdays, because pick-up hours aren't till 9. We're hoping it's equally beneficial to you, because you don't have to fight market traffic or guess whether we're going to be there.
Thank you for your patience as we transition and try out new things! If you want to sign up for the Buyers' Club email (no commitment required - just an occasional email), head over to our contact page and send us an email with "Buyers club" in the subject line. And if you ever have feedback, special requests, questions, good stories, pictures, or funny jokes, please feel free to email us at blenheimorganicgardens@gmail.com.
Thank you for your support - we wouldn't be able to do what we do without you.
We'll be back at Fredericksburg Market on June 10th, and the next Buyers Club email will go out the following week.
Peace, love and vegetables! :-)
- Kim
