Frequently Asked Questions

Posted by the Team

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How does the online market program get us to a brick-and-mortar cooperative grocery?

Last Fall, Laura and Jake toured around the Midwest and spoke with half a dozen cooperatives, asking them, "What do you know now that you wished you'd known at the beginning?"

What we heard was a primer on the Do's and Don'ts of cooperative organizing.

We learned that co-ops can spend three, five, or seven years attempting to organize. This is usually an all-volunteer process, and with out a paid full-time project manager, the progress ebbs and flows with the availability of volunteer time and passion.

Another contributing factor to the long organizing time is that many cooperatives organize around a vision of a far-away future. We think that the process of attracting a large enough membership (1,800 for Common Ground in Urbana Illinois!) to afford a grocery store will be better served by a vision that can also be tasted.

The online market program is our plan to shave years off of the organizing time for the cooperative grocery store, because it doesn't require much capital to get started, and it will attract many more people to our project by giving them something they can taste now, rather than three years from now.

Where can I find the link to the online catalog?

We're still in beta testing mode, so the link to our catalog is not currently public. But you don't have to be a Beta Club member to check it out!

If you're interested in learning more about the Beta Test program, please email your name, phone number, and address to info@miamiriverfoods.org. We'd love to talk with you more about getting involved!

What kinds of products are available through the online market program?

The purpose of the Beta Test program is to discover, together, how to create a sustainable online market program that will support the establishment of a brick-and-mortar cooperative grocery store.

The program is still in "development mode," which means we're constantly asking for ideas and feedback from our Beta Testers about how to make the program better! Their ideas also drive the addition of new products to our catalog.

We offer a variety of local foods, thanks to partnerships with dozens of local farms and producers. Please see our Farms & Sellers page for details. In addition, we offer many non-local but socially responsible (organic, fair trade, GMO-free, etc.) items such as organic grains & legumes, Seventh Generation household products, and Eden canned tomatoes.

What do all these Beta Test numbers mean?

Blame Jake's software development background! In the world of software, major releases are 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, etc, while minor releases are denoted 2.1, 2.2, 2.3. These indicate that incremental improvements and new features are being added to release 2.0, while a major change in direction was marked by our big release of weekly orders in 3.0.

Our first pilot of the Local Foods Box was called "Beta Test 1.0". Our second pilot was a substantial rework of everything from our processes to our products, and that was "Beta Test 2.0." We're currently in the midst of the "Beta Test 3.x" series, in which we're continuing to improve our processes and systems for weekly orders and a growing group.

I've always wanted to run a Beta Test! How can I help?

Oh, bless you! We'd love to have your help in:

  • Selecting new products, investigating them, pricing them, and adding them to our catalog
  • Contacting new local farms, interviewing them, getting product inventory and pricing, and adding them to the mix
  • Creating purchase orders for our vendors
  • Receiving deliveries and managing our inventory
  • All the interesting design challenges that come up every time we do one of these - like finding (or making) new space for storage, designing new shelving systems, improving our processes, and so on.

    And, of course,
  • Welcoming new Beta Testers to our group

Please email us at info@miamiriverfoods.org if you'd like to join this team! Thanks!

How can I leave feedback about the Project, the Beta Tests, or contact the team?

Please head over to our Contact Us page. Thanks!

What standards do we have for foods that are offered through the online market?

A lot of folks, especially local producers, have asked us how we decide which foods are "eligible" for the virtual local foods program.

Generally, an informal group of members have been helping us compare freshness, quality, price, and production methods. For example, they hosted a chicken taste test dinner in December to help us decide which chicken to offer in Beta Box 1.0.

We also use a few rules of thumb when we evaluate new products. In order, we prioritize:

  • Locally produced
  • Healthy (including antibiotic/hormone/chemical free)
  • Raised with organic methods
  • Fair trade and fair labor
  • Environmentally responsible (e.g. made from recycled materials)

    • If you'd ever like more information about a specific product, please head on over to the Contact Us page. We'd be happy to tell you more! And if it's a local product, we'd love to put you in touch with the farm it came from!

    How do you define "local"?

    We typically define "local" as within 100 miles of Miami County, although many of the local products we offer currently are produced within a 30 mile radius.

    Do you offer fresh local produce?

    Yes! We do offer fresh local produce when it is in season.

    We currently have a partnership with the Happy Box organic CSA program at Fulton Farms. We're very excited about working with the Happy Box, since Milan's example has been a big influence and inspiration for the Miami River Foods Project.

    Beta Club members may sign up for a weekly Happy Box subscription through our online catalog. We also offer the option of purchasing a one-time Happy Box for folks who'd like to try it out before signing up for a weekly commitment.

    Soon, Beta Testers who are also Happy Box customers will be able to pick up both orders at the same time! We also hope to have fresh local fruits & veggies for day-of sale during pickup throughout the season - stay tuned!

    How do I inquire about becoming a vendor?

    If you're a producer of foods that fit into our mission and vision (see "What standards do we have for foods that go in the Box?" above), please email an introduction and product overview to Info@MiamiRiverFoods.org

     

     

    This space updated frequently!
    Send us your questions, and we'll post the answers!