Connecting Producers with Consumers

Many people throughout Minnesota are choosing fresh and healthy foods.  Producers of food and food products can make it easier for consumers to find them via a new data base driven website. Producers can sign up for their own free web page to market products to these consumers in the region.
  
The Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership is a group of citizens with a mission to connect and enhance resources of the region and the University of Minnesota and to develop a sustainable regional community by educating and empowering citizens to explore and act on their ideas. In order to do so, the organization is provided funding from the Minnesota Legislature through the University of Minnesota.  One priority identified during a round table discussion with many local foods producers in the region is marketing. To meet this need, the group is working on the "Local Foods Partnership" project.

During the fall semester of 2003, the University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Ag Marketing Research class conducted a survey of local food producers, processors and agencies in northwestern Minnesota. Students working on this service learning project identified over 95 farmers and processors in the region that grow and market local foods. The results of the survey have been compiled into a searchable database and can be found at

 http://localfoods.umn.edu/

The web site is set up so that producers can have maximum control over the information provided about their business. Producers or processors will have their own web page with a URL

http://localfoods.umn.edu/NAMEofBusiness.