Selling Local Sustainable Food From Your Farm: 7 Tips & Tools

Farm to fork has exploded in popularity as more people seek ways to eat healthier and support sustainable businesses.

Now, the local, sustainable food movement is taking the concept a step further, trying to connect farmers and other local food producers directly with their communities in a way that’s better for the environment and economically sustainable.

But what is local sustainable farming, is it worth trying, and how can you do it?

In this post, we break down the basics of local sustainable farming and give you seven tips and tools to ensure your local food sales are a long-term success.

What Is Local Sustainable Food?

The United Nations defines sustainable food as “a food system that delivers food security and nutrition for all in such a way that the economic, social, and environmental bases to generate food security and nutrition for future generations are not compromised.”

In other words, sustainable food systems maintain food security and nutrition without depleting resources needed by future generations.

There are also more formal definitions of “local food,” with the USDA defining local food as being produced within 400 miles of its origin or within the state it's sold.

The local sustainability movement, however, is less rigid and more nuanced in its meaning. It’s a business practice and philosophy all about building community and creating economic and nutritional independence within those communities.

Local sustainable food production refers to food that is grown and sold within the same place, using practices that are minimally destructive to the environment, and in a way that’s profitable in the long term.

Put another way, the local sustainability movement seeks to reduce the go-betweens in food and create direct connections between local farmers and the customers they sell to.

Top Benefits of Local Sustainable Food Sales

While it might seem like a ‘pie-in-the-sky’ idea, local sustainable food has many benefits for both customers and food producers.

Supports local businesses: Connecting customers directly to farmers supports local businesses, making it easier for farmers to sell their products directly at retail prices.
The food tastes better: Any farmer or anyone with their own garden can tell you that local food tastes better and is more nutritious. You can maintain higher quality when you avoid taking shortcuts to prepare food for long-distance deliveries.
Better for the environment: When farms don’t have to rely on monocultures and other unsustainable farming practices, they can farm in a way that’s less dependent on agrichemicals and doesn’t disrupt local wildlife.
Reduces food waste: Cutting the distance from farmer to consumer also helps reduce the risk of spoilage and food waste.

The best part is that technology is turning a movement into a reality, with fresh food e-commerce solutions making it easier for farmers to sell their products independently.

7 Tips & Tools To Successfully Enter the Local Sustainable Food Industry

Whether you’re looking to transition into a local, sustainable business for the first time or want to boost your local food sales, these tips will ensure that you find success.

1. Sell Online

When most people think of local farming, they think of a weekly farmers market or similar event. While these events can certainly be worthwhile, many people don’t know about them or simply don’t have time to attend regularly.

Online sales remove this barrier and make it easier than ever to sell locally. With a user-friendly website that offers a convenient shopping experience, it’s much easier to convert a local customer who’s on the fence about trying out your products.

These days, you don’t need to be a technical wizard to build a great-looking website. Tools like Grazecart’s no-code website builder give farmers a user-friendly and cost-effective way to create a website in a matter of days.

While it might seem counterintuitive, a strong online presence (especially one optimized for local search) is the best way to start building a local sustainable community.

2. Focus on Education

People are used to big grocery stores where almost every type of food is available year-round. These expectations can make it harder for farmers following sustainable practices to compete.

To succeed locally, sometimes it’s best to not copy what the big competitors are doing and focus on what makes you unique. For your farm, that could mean educating people on the benefits of eating seasonally.

Education is becoming increasingly important to consumers, even for traditional grocers. This is because many people want to eat healthier or try new foods, but don’t know where to start. This area is where small farmers who know their stuff can shine.

Educational materials can take many forms, from an informative blog post or recipe to a great product description or social media post. The less intimidating you make seasonal eating, the easier it will be for customers to get on board with it.

Informing people about food is also a great way to make a sale. For example, if it’s almost time to harvest your cucumbers, create a post about your favorite cucumber salad and pickle recipes. Or you could create a product bundle on your e-commerce solution to make it even easier for customers to take the leap and try something new.

3. Partner With Local Businesses

There’s nothing like going into a restaurant and seeing delicious items made with local ingredients on the menu. Those ingredients could be yours!

How to get started? Go to some restaurants you love, sit down, and talk to people. Chefs are passionate about good food and ingredients, and you may be surprised how many will be eager to talk to you.

One word of caution, however: many restaurants will want priority access to seasonal items over your online customers. So, if you go into business with a restaurant, ensure you can meet their needs without letting your other customers down.

Restaurants aren’t your only option, though. You could partner with local grocers or butchers to supply them with seasonal items. This promotion is helpful for both sides as it gives them access to high-quality products while spreading awareness of your brand.

Or, think outside the box and find people who aren’t in the food industry at all. For example, you might meet a local craftsman and create opportunities to sell some of their cookware with your food.

There are many ways to approach this, but ultimately, a business community that sticks together succeeds together.

4. Run a Farm Loyalty Program

Retailers of all sizes offer some form of customer loyalty program, and so should you!

A farm loyalty program encourages repeat business by offering loyalty members incentives to keep buying from you. In most retail industries, loyalty members tend to come back more often and spend more when they do.

A farm loyalty program can take many forms, such as:

Accumulating points that can be redeemed for a discount
Access to exclusive discounts
First dibs on new items
Subscription boxes

…and more.

Most e-commerce solutions have flexible tools that allow you to customize a loyalty program that fits your needs.

5. Market Your Farm

Just because you’re local doesn’t mean people will magically find you. Creating a consistent farm marketing strategy serves a few valuable purposes:

It helps you show up in local search results
It conveys your story and values
It helps drive website traffic and sales

While marketing might sound intimidating, it’s not. There are many ways to go about it. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Post pictures and stories on social media
Provide farm tours or film a virtual farm tour
Write a weekly newsletter or blog
Run seasonal promotions and discounts
Write detailed and personable product descriptions

While these are just a few ideas, marketing is much more than just waving a “for sale” sign in front of customers’ faces. It’s a way to introduce yourself and convince people why they should choose you.

So, don’t be afraid to show some personality — nobody wants to buy locally sustainable food from a sales robot.

6. Follow Food Safety Rules

If you’re going to start selling directly to your local community, it’s essential to understand the ins and outs of shipping meat and produce safely. Even if you’re only shipping over short distances, a single slip-up could be devastating for your reputation.

When shipping food locally, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

Use appropriate packing materials
Keep temperature consistent
Work with a reliable cold shipping provider
Don’t cross-contaminate items

As one of the primary motivators for local sustainable customers is environmental concerns, you could also consider using environmentally friendly packaging.

7. Sell Subscriptions

The easier it is for local customers to find and buy your food, the more likely they are to take a chance on you.

Selling monthly subscriptions makes the decision even easier. Subscription boxes are an increasingly popular way to take the stress out of shopping and cooking. They’re also great for businesses and customers since farms get recurring revenue and customers get great quality food at a discount.

Here are a few tips for running a successful subscription box service:

Curate your boxes: Curate boxes to show off your expertise while encouraging people to try things they otherwise might not consider.

Use promotions: Offer discounts to encourage customers to buy a subscription or offer subscribers additional discounts on other items in your store.

Make payment simple: Look for a subscription provider that doesn’t require customers to make a deposit but can still collect their payment information in advance.

Simplify Your Food Sales With a Partner That’s Passionate About Supporting Local Farms

The future of food is local, and the ability for farms to sell directly to customers online makes it possible. However, not all food e-commerce solutions are built alike.

Ensure your local sustainable food business hits the ground running with a technology partner invested in your success. GrazeCart was built by farmers to simplify online food sales for small and mid-size farms, butchers, and grocers.

GrazeCart comes with all of the functions small farms need to successfully sell locally, including:

Sell by weight: Weigh out individual cuts or boxes of produce and then instantly update the remaining amounts in your inventory the moment you make a sale.
User-friendly website builder: Easily create a website using a drag-and-drop website builder.
Marketing and communication: Send customers SMS and email notifications about orders, or send out targeted marketing based on customers’ order history.
Advanced inventory management: Track and manage your farm inventory in real time to avoid stockouts, reduce picking time, create stockout reports, and manage orders.

To see what GrazeCart can do, watch a demo today or talk with one of our farm e-commerce experts.