Our local food buying club has been in the works for a few years now. It’s really taking off amid this coronavirus pandemic, which has been a catalyst for people to find new ways to purchase healthy, local food outside of the grocery store. Kelly Lively has much experience working with Cherry Capital Foods, and has improved and streamlined the process of ordering.
**The food buying club is a service available only to members and shareholders in The Lively Farm!**
However, during the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve opened ordering to the general public to help our friends get safe access to healthy, local food!
(this helps us pay for the work it takes to put this all together!)
A Unique Food Buying Club That Emphasizes Locally Grown Food,
The Lively Farm Buying Club is unique in that the products are not the same cheap items found in big box stores but are produced by small businesses from Michigan that build resiliency into the food system. By ordering through this club you can feel good about supporting businesses that support local farmers or are a local farmer.
The food buying club is made possible through a collaborative relationship with Cherry Capital Foods. Based in Traverse City, this ‘food hub’ gathers and distributes products from many local growers and producers around Michigan. Our partnership with CCF has created a list of local items from meat to berries; from cheese to soap; veggie burgers to toilet paper.
THE ABOVE LINK LISTS THE PRODUCERS THE CLUB PURCHASES FROM
The Lively Farm’s vegetables are not listed through the club (at this point) as our production is primarily for our CSA shares & seasonal - although we do intend to provide products through the buying club at some point. We’ve focused on providing a list of quality local foods that comprise a complete diet for our shareholders and members: protein, fruits, dairy, etc., that are foods we don’t currently produce at our farm. We are “locavores” who want to create a stronger local economy and a community that is resilient and self-sustaining.
Questions you may be asking yourself…
Is this right for me?
How much can I order and how often?
How do I order and where do I pick up?
Are there any special instructions to be aware of?
Is this done elsewhere?
Answers:
This is right for you if you have people to feed and would like to do that outside of the commercial grocery store aisles! It’s also right for you if you value buying from local sources, and would like to get more value by ordering in larger quantities than you might typically find at the grocery store.
Orders can be as large as you’d like! Most items are offered by the case (most cases can be split), which is typically 6-12 jars, cans, bags, or more lbs. The product list/ order form shows the quantities of each item and how/if it can be split. As far as how often you can place an order, we place orders every other week to make product available but to keep our workload manageable.
Orders can be made
after email contact is made and we share the product list. Enjoy combing through the product list to decide what you want/need, writing down your order (product name & quantity) and send it back to us via email. We collect orders by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and have the products available for pickup by noon Thursday.
Orders are picked up at our new “store” at 3805 Dunes Hwy (M-72). This property was formerly the Eagle’s Club Campground, located four miles west of Empire, and is soon to be re-opened by the Lively family.
If you are ordering frozen food, be sure to arrive within the pickup time window, as we cannot guarantee that we can keep your food frozen!
Of course this is done elsewhere! We are not unique in working with other suppliers to make produce and other products available in the region. Look at MI Farm Co-Op look at Providence Farm. These are two examples that are nearby, using collaboration with more than just one farm to make eating local possible.
What are your questions and how could we make ourselves more clear and better serve your needs?!
If you are interested in ordering through the club, please contact us! We’re reachable by email at farmer@thelivelyfarm.com, by phone at 231-360-7048, or on social media @Thelivelyfarm! Or you can stop by the farm at 9990 S. Bow Road and say hi! From 6 feet away (: