Local Food Pick Up at Willow Island....Tips for Ordering and How to Be Prepared!

Posted on April 19, 2020 | General News

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our normal business model on its head and is forcing the Dane County Farmers' Market to seek out creative solutions to connect our customers with Wisconsin family farmers and small food businesses.

On Friday, we announced that when we resume our Local Food Pick Ups on April 22 on Willow Island at the Alliant Energy Center, our customers will be able to visit our online marketplace on sourcewhatsgood.com and place ONE unified order for products from all of the participating DCFM vendors.

This is a new system for all of us, so we wanted to share some details on what to expect and how you can help us be more efficient!

Pssssst...if you missed our original post with details on the Pick Ups and how to order, you can find it here.

Customers will need to first create a customer profile on sourcewhatsgood.com or download the WhatsGood marketplace app to be ready to place an order on Monday.

TIPS FOR ORDERING

1. Shop Once a Week! The same way we are all being encouraged to consolidate our trips to the grocery store, we ask that our customers try to limit their shopping at our Local Food Pick Ups to either Wednesday OR Saturday. This will help us allow more customers to participate.

2. Stock Up! We encourage you to think of your trip to the DCFM Local Food Pick Up as your weekly grocery trip. You will find fresh veggies, hyper-local meats, farm-fresh eggs, delicious bakery items, bread, and so much more.

3. Support Many Farmers! We strongly encourage you to support multiple DCFM members. The goal of the Local Food Pick Up is to provide a centralized location where our customers can connect with many of our farmers in a safe manner.

You will see fewer vendors participating this Wednesday because we are scurrying to on-board farmers. Each week, we expect to add new farmers.

If you are only interested in buying from one vendor, please consider connecting with them in a different manner. If you are interested in connecting directly with our members, please visit our Guide on Buying Directly from DCFM Members.

4. Ask a Friend! The limiting factor to our system is the number of vehicles that we can efficiently process through our drive-thru pick-up. If you have a friend who also loves the DCFM, consider offering to pick-up their order on their behalf!

5. It's a Marathon...not a sprint. We are blown away by the incredible support our community has shown for this model. We will open our first online marketplace on Monday and we expect that we may have to close it before noon on Tuesday because of an abundance of orders. Please be patient. If you aren't able to place an order for Wednesday, try again for Saturday. We will be continuing our Local Food Pick-Ups for the foreseeable future.

6. There is a fee...Transforming our model of business is not without costs. When you checkout using our WhatsGood Market platform, you will see a 5% fee. That's only $5 on a $100 order. Consider it similar to the cost of having your groceries delivered, shipped, or ready for curb-side pick-up. This fee supports our use of the online platform. The DCFM does not receive any of it.

If you are traveling via bike/ped, please follow the same path as vehicles once you have entered Willow Island.

BE PREPARED!

There are simple steps that you can do to help us be more efficient.

1. Consider traveling eastbound on Olin Avenue from Park Street, so you will be making a RIGHT turn on to Expo Way. This will help us keep traffic flowing.

2. Keep your receipt handy, so you know from which farms you ordered.

3. Post a sign (with as big and chunky letters as possible!) on the driver side of your vehicle with:

• Your FIRST NAME and LAST NAME
• The FARMS OR VENDORS from whom your ordered

4. Roll down your window (or pop your trunk) so vendors can place your orders in your vehicles without touching your car (and thereby having to change their gloves or wash their hands)

Remember, it takes about 45 minutes to walk all the way around the Square during our outdoor market. It will take a little bit of time to drive-thru the Pick Up, too. So put on your favorite podcast, grab your furry friend (this is literally the ONLY time it's OK to bring your dog to market), wave at your favorite farmers, and please be patient!

Thank you for your support!