Software allows customers to choose what products to buy

By DEAN REA

For the Capital Press

EUGENE, Ore. — Amy Vellutini sat in front of a computer on a Friday and ordered $20 worth of food from a list of items offered by more than 50 local growers and vendors in the southern Willamette Valley.

Vellutini, a Eugene resident, is among a growing group of customers who are going online to do their grocery shopping.

The marketing program developed in Eugene makes it possible for a customer to shop for local food products that are offered by growers and vendors, place an order and pick up the merchandise on a weekday, usually Tuesday evening.

“It’s a niche market that serves a lot of busy people who want to buy local foods,” says Amy McCann, sales and marketing director of Eugene Local Foods, which developed and began marketing the software in 2009.

The software is being used to operate online markets in several states, including Oregon, Washington and California.

Here’s the way it works at the Eugene Local Foods and Willamette Local Foods sites:

* Participating farmers list products that are available during the week and set the price for each item. Categories include vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, frozen meat, poultry, dairy, grains and legumes, bee products, eggs, bread and baked goods and animal feed.

* The customer usually shops online Thursday through Monday noon.

* Farmers deliver the items to a central distribution point where customers pick them up, usually Tuesday evening.

Olympic Local Foods in Washington and Santa Cruz Local Foods in California follow the same procedure as the Eugene market, said Tom Husmann, manager of the Olympia market. They liken the service to “a grocery store, but more local — like a CSA, but more flexible — like a farmers’ market, but more convenient.”

The prices set by farmers and other vendors are marked up 30 percent to cover business costs. Most customers use credit cards, but arrangements can be made to pay in cash or by check.

The Willamette operation was established late last year in partnership with the Brownsville and Sweet Home farmers’ markets and offers pickup sites in Sweet Home, Brownsville, Lebanon and Scio.

“For our farm, online sales is one tool to sell our product,” said Kasey White of Lonesome Whistle Farm in Eugene, which also sells at farmers’ markets. “We have sold dry beans in one-pound bags through Eugene Local Foods and this has worked well for us.”

“Business is slower during the summer,” said McCann, who cited the availability of more local food options than during the winter, when the two online operations anticipate 100 to 120 customers.

“Price is not a driving force for most of our customers,” McCann said. However, the online service monitors prices to make certain that they are competitive, she said.

Vellutini, who shops for a family of four, said she also buys food from stores, “but I know that the food I buy online is a lot healthier and a lot better for the economy.”

“My husband loves lamb,” said Quisha Light, a first-time customer from Eugene. “I was able to get it from Eugene Local Foods for a good price. I’ll be ordering again.”

Doug Frazier, a computer programmer, and Mazzi Ernandes, a bakery owner and a grower with CSA experience, founded the Eugene online business in 2008.

McCann, who spent more than a decade in software sales and marketing, became a partner in 2009 and suggested that they market the computer software.

Online food centers

Aurora Local Foods: Aurora, Ore.

Central Oregon Locavore: Bend, Ore.

Colorado Local Market: Buena Vista, Colo.

Corvallis Local Foods: Corvallis, Ore.

Eat Local First: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Eugene Local Foods: Eugene, Ore.

Olympia Local Foods: Olympia, Wash.

Port Townsend Local Market: Port Townsend, Wash.

Rogue Valley Local Foods: Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass, Ore.

Santa Cruz Local Foods: Santa Cruz, Calif.

Willamette Local Foods: Southern Willamette Valley.

Coming Soon: San Benito Bounty, San Benito County, Calif.