The East Orlando Farmers Market has developed an Online Farmers Market with an easy no-contact curbside pick-up. They will be providing these services to residents as north as Lake Mary/Sanford, as West as Winter Garden/Windemere, as South as Hunters Creek, Kissimmee/St. Cloud and as East as Christmas/Wedgefield.
While a lot of community residents throughout Orlando still are not participating in outdoor events due Covid-19, Diana and Destiny have found a way to keep residents still able to support farmers and small businesses.
"We knew we needed to come up with a plan to still be able to provide local food and products to those residents that still find it hard to participate in outdoor events, help vendors to continue to sell their products and do it safely."
The team developed a system to keep it simple enough for even the most novice tech individuals to upload their inventory into the marketplace. Customers can now shop from a wide variety of local products all in one site, with one central checkout.
In addition to providing a continued outlet of support for local producers, they have also broadened the farmer’s market offerings by introducing a line of value-added products to the market including pressed juice, holistic remedies, baked goods, and much more.
On the site, shoppers can find everything they need from staples such as fresh pasta, eggs, honey, coffee, and produce, and much more. Non-food products include supplements, coffee, sea moss, kombucha, and we plan on adding more to the online market as we move along. They are currently looking to partner with more vendors that offer, milk, meat, cheese, and other essential foods.
A final note of success for the quickly evolving online farmers market is its ability to soon accept SNAP or EBT transactions. Customers who would like to purchase SNAPeligible items can simply checkout on the site using the coupon code "SNAP" which will zero out their purchase until they come to pick up. At this point, the market will process their EBT card just as they would on a regular market day utilizing the same contact-free pickup.
They hope that the Online Farmers Market provides a dramatic increase in sales so they can continue to offer the service, even once COVID-19 has abided. Many vendors were deeply affected during COVID-19 and this would be an extension of their sales force. The ease of dropping off their products/produce will allow them to spend more time in the field, growing fresh produce and in their shops producing more products.
"The Online Farmers Market allows for the reach of customers that otherwise would not have access to markets due to time constraints, mobility, or social distancing concerns. Since the beginning of the East Orlando Farmers Market of last year August 2020, it has been our belief that connecting farmers and small business to our residents help the produce purchased closest to the Source/Farm is the absolute best way to always maintain food safety, which is a top property for us," Diana Ruiz, Owner of at East Orlando Farms Market, said.
You can visit their website at EastOrlandoFarmersMarket.com to subscribe and stay connected to get the latest information.