To promote the use of local foods among restaurateurs and smaller groceries I thought there should be some way to let those customers know each month the following:

• what local food is available
• from what farmers, at what price, with direct contact info phone, email
• quantity available
• delivery schedule
• how long will it be available

A call can be made to each participating farmer each month where this info would be collected.  A database would be used to sort the data and make it most useful for the reader. The bulletin would be on a set schedule with a publishing cut-off time and date.

Meat and Dairy products as well as value added products would be included. Products would need to be grown or handmade by the seller.

The newsletter would be mostly this type of information but could also include a featured local dish of the week which would be contributed by a local chef or a culinary student working with local food from the participating farmers.

Funding: The newsletter would initially be free to all. It could be supported by donations from farmers or customers who find it useful.  If successful there could be ad support or sponsorship. Products commercially produced in Ohio from non-local ingredients could purchase an ad to be included. They would be marked as such to differentiate from locally grown goods.

Distribution: It has been suggested that this be an electronic email newsletter.  It is also possible to deliver via RSS, Instant Messenger or several other ways (using a service such as FeedBlitz) that would be readable to the recipients. FeedBlitz has a free version contains ads, but can be upgraded to eliminate ads later. It may be possible to deliver via fax or us mail for those users who require it and pay for the cost of mailing/faxing.

It may be necessary to create a separate bulletin for grocers, since there may be different pricing for them than for restaurants.

There may be opportunity for this to spawn a direct to consumer newsletter unless there is already one serving the local market in this way.  If anyone knows of such please advise.  Such a newsletter would include recipes and tips and could be circulated over the winter, if products are available such as preserved foods meat and dairy.

Any feedback is welcome.

by Mayda