By Jasmyn Belcher
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wrvo/local-wrvo-885424.mp3
Oswego, NY – A relatively new program is making it easier for anyone with an internet connection in Central New York to have fresh organic produce delivered to their doorstep...and at the same time is making doing business easier for farmers.
CNY Bounty, the online farmers market, started in Chenango County and is now available in Madison County. This week organizers are announcing an expansion into Onondaga County.
Becca Jablonski, the Madision County Agricultural Economic Specialist, said the three-year-old program went from working with 12 farms to 100 farms. It is currently delivering to over 700 customers.
Available products listed on the website, along with photos, range from milk and cheese to pancake mix and organic meats. Farmers set their own prices and CNY Bounty marks them up by 30 percent in order to pay for the marketing, fuel and distribution costs normally payed for by farmers. Jablonski said CNY Bounty takes on that burden.
"Distribution is extremely expensive. Most of these farms do not have a lot of hired labor, so taking time off from the farm to go market and distribute their products means they're going to produce less [...] and most of these farms are operating on a very small margin," said Jablonski.
Mike Ellis, spokesman for Split Rail Apple Farm in Oneida, said, "It's really hard to work full time and then come home and do the chores around the house and around the orchard and then try to reach out and find distribution stuff. Pretty much, because we are so busy, if it wasn't for the Bounty, we would probably just be selling apples to our neighbors."
Split Rail sells anywhere from 30-50 bags of apples a week through CNY Bounty. Ellis said both consumers and small farms can benefit from new technologies and ways of doing business; that is the reason why Al Stirpe, Central New York Assemblyman, got involved this program. He helped facilitate the recent expansion into Fayetteville and Manlius.
"A little selfishly I'm on the agriculture committee and the small business committee. One of the objectives we have on the agriculture committee is to help maintain farmland in New York State. We have lost so much farmland over the last 20 years, because it's just so difficult for farmers to make money," Stirpe said.
He is also touting the environmentally friendly factor of shrinking one's carbon footprint by buying local, and the convenience factor, especially for seniors.
There is no membership fee to use CNY Bounty and delivery is free for orders over $35. Stirpe said that if some of the food is more expensive it is because the products are natural and organically grown. Food is delivered to individual households on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
CNY Bounty Organizers said they plan to continue expanding into all Central New York counties depending on the success of the business. The program is made possible by a series of grants and funding from agricultural groups.
For more information:
CNY Bounty