Online buying club would offer access to local food

REGION — In tough economic times, local advocates are looking for new ways to connect vulnerable populations with local food producers and a new online buying club might offer some help, especially for seniors.

Western Mountains Alliance (WMA), in a partnership with Healthy Oxford Hills and the Nutrition Center of Maine at St. Mary's Health System in Lewiston, are designing three buying clubs in western Maine. The clubs are planned in Lewiston, Bethel and Norway.

In January, the groups received a two-year $153,400 grant from AARP to set up three of the buying clubs in western Maine specifically for seniors, says HOH Director Ken Morse.

According to Morse, the grant is one of only 10 awarded to groups across the country. He says WMA, which has experience setting up online local food ordering programs, will take the lead in the project.

The buying clubs would work like a bulk order system, explains WMA Executive Director Tanya Swain.

Instead of purchasing small amounts individually, club members will be able to log onto the system and see, for example, how many pounds of carrots a local farmer was willing to deliver.

Then, the member might order a pound of carrots. Other club members could buy the carrots they wanted, until the farmer's requested weight was reached.

As the amount of food goes up, the cost goes down, Swain says. By buying in bulk through the club, people could trim their food budgets and still have access to locally-produced goods.

Swain says a buying club WMA helped set up at the school in Readfield has proved quite successful. Farmers told her it saved them a lot of time and energy to deliver bulk produce to specific locations.

The AARP grant will allow WMA to target seniors for the buying club, Swain says. Because of cash and transportation barriers, some seniors can find it difficult to access local produce.

She says that WMA intends to work with existing senior groups to amplify, rather than duplicate, the work.

Swain hopes the buying clubs can help make fresh, local food easier to get to and less expensive for seniors – Swain says she has already had producers express interest in the clubs. 

However, Swain admits that there are challenges –  some seniors may not have the technological know-how to navigate the buying club site and the impact of the program could be limited by the size of the senior population.

There are also a lot of questions about the idea: would the clubs be independent or part of a larger group? Will each have its own site? Where will the food be delivered?

Swain hopes the AARP grant will help WMA answer those questions and create a robust and successful buying club.

According to Swain, the clubs can have a even bigger effect once the general public – and potentially institutions – become involved.

Swain says the buying clubs should be up and running by next year.