Virtual Farmers' Market Delivers the Best of Oklahoma

One morning, a few months ago, I awoke with an overwhelming desire to have a really good bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich for dinner that evening. Not having any of the ingredients necessary to satisfy this craving, I decided to stop at my local chain store supermarket and purchase the three basic necessities to make the perfect BLT. In the produce section I was delighted to see, what the sign claimed to be, vine ripened tomatoes. I selected two medium sized ones and headed over to the greens section to pick out a bunch of loose leaf lettuce for ingredient number two of my BLT. Down the aisle and around the corner I went to the meat department in order to pick up a pound or two of bacon. Then out the door to hurry home and complete my perfect BLT.

On the drive home I could almost taste the BLT I was going to prepare. Arriving home, I opened the bacon package and placed it into the pan to fry. I Took a quick look at the added ingredients on the package I had just opened and discovered that there was far more than just bacon in my bacon. Oh well, on to the perfect BLT. I then sliced my vine ripened tomato that felt a little like cardboard and tasted even worse. I ended up tossing the other tomato and having a BL, not exactly what I had planned on all day, but that was the end result of my shopping experience.

The above experience lead me to ask then, "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have the farm fresh, healthy food available at your fingertips?" For Oklahomans just such an opportunity exists at www.oklahomafood.coop , a virtual Farmers' Market that brings locally grown and naturally raised products to the consumer year round. Instead of the weekly trip to the local open air Farmer's Market, the coop member views an on line order system that allows them to browse the products being offered for sale and read information about the producer and the methods used to produce the product. It's quick and convenient with no need to be concerned about the weather cooperating or not having your favorite producer show up that day.

Three years young, the Oklahoma Farmers' Coop boasts a membership of 1200 with slightly more than one hundred of its members also being producers. Choice selection often is near 2000 items from which your selection can be made. The coop begins to accept on line orders on the first day of each month and it is best to order early as all products may be limited in quantity. Orders for the items close on the second Thursday of the month.

Each producer has a web page that explains his products, practices, and amount of product available for order. On the third Thursday of the month each producer brings their product to the distribution center were it is sorted and packed to be transferred to sites throughout Oklahoma. This "Delivery Day" requires the effort of many volunteers to sort the ordered merchandise which includes organic meats, poultry, vegetables and exquisite desserts, as well as many handmade craft items and live plants. Each individual product is labeled by the producer with the purchaser's name and delivery location.

Volunteers from around the state congregate at various sorting and pickup sites to make sure products arrive to the right people at the right place. Between thirty-five and forty thousand dollars worth of Oklahoma products are currently sold per month. The Coop is continuing to experience steady growth.

The Coop is presently operating out of space rented from Oklahoma State University in Oklahoma City. With a capital campaign presently underway, funds will soon be in place to allow for the purchase of its own warehouse. The Coop will soon have a permanent location for sorting and distribution of the products provided by its members, for its members. Additional capital will be will be raised to purchase enhanced software that will provide for greater control over orders and producers' product pages.

So if you live in Oklahoma and fresh products from producers you know makes sense to you ,log on and join the www.oklahomafood.coop. Not from Oklahoma? Then log on and see how you can start a coop in your home state!