A new way for consumers to buy the freshest food Maryland farms have to offer is now just a click away.
Foodtrader.org is a new, free, virtual farmer’s market that lets small independent Maryland farms create an instantaneous listing that describes the fresh foods they have to sell, the price and the location. Since going live July 15, listings from more than 20 farms have included specialty cuts of meat, fruits and vegetables of all types, flowers, honey, dairy products, and even soap made from goat’s milk.
This new service was created by the University of Maryland’s Environmental Finance Center, a unit of the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, just in time for National Farmer’s Market Week (August 3-9).
Joanne Throwe, EFC’s associate director, said the new website is not only available to any consumer, but to any Maryland business or institution. She said the site already has the support of the Maryland Restaurant Association and is consistent with the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s “Maryland’s Best” initiative and Governor Martin O’Malley’s “Buy Local” initiative. She said she hopes a variety of other institutions, such as universities, community colleges, public and private schools, and hospitals and nursing homes, will avail themselves of this opportunity to easily access fresh and nutritious food directly from Maryland farmers.
“Anything you typically find at a farmer’s market can now be found on our website,” she said. “We are encouraging Marylanders to buy more local food and support our farms. Plus, we’re helping to bolster the economic viability of our working agricultural lands in the state. That’s a heritage this state can’t afford to lose.”
At a time when rising fuel prices are making the long distance transportation of food more expensive and amid growing concern about the vehicle emissions that contribute to climate change, “buy local” programs have suddenly becoming more popular.
“Buying directly from Maryland farms just makes good economic sense,” said Dr. Gerrit Knaap, director of the National Center for Smart Growth. “We have some of the best quality food you could ever want to eat right here in Maryland.”
One important aspect of the foodtrader.org website is that it includes a category for charities. Farmers can receive tax deductions for donations that they make to the Maryland Foodbank. Consumers can also make a food pantry donation and receive a deduction. (See the “Food Charities” section of the website for more details.)
In addition to buying what farmers are offering to sell on foodtrader.org, consumers can also make individual requests online for a particular item desired when it becomes available. All payment arrangements are made between farmer and consumer.
This new online farmer’s market is an extension of another popular EFC website, agtrader.org, which is frequently used by farmers to buy, sell and trade agricultural equipment and other resources.
Both of these websites are easy to use and allow traders to quickly register and then post their products anytime they wish without having to fill out forms. Pricing and delivery are left up to buyer and seller to work out. Foodtrader.org is a secured website that will be monitored and maintained by the Environmental Finance Center staff. All information is kept priv