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Issue No. 4
| November. 2010 |
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Puget Sound Food Network: Year One
by Lucy Norris, Project Manager
Dear PSFN Members & Friends,
It's hard to believe Puget Sound Food Network launched one year ago at the 2009 Focus on Farming Conference. Since then, we have worked hard to maximize our resources to create a valuable network of local food businesses who are working together to connect farm to market. And we're still growing!
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for: - PSFN members, who took a leap of faith to join PSFN in our inaugural year. We look forward to serving you for many years to come!
- Inspiring partnerships that bring non-profits and for-profits together to create solutions.
- The success of our Seattle and Skagit WholeSale Markets.
- Delicious food, family farms, fishing communities, healthy soil and animals, safe habitats, clean water, and biodiversity.
- NABC, our small PSFN staff and what we've created this year.
We have learned some important lessons in our infancy and promise to continue striving to provide PSFN members with innovative, yet practical solutions that will make us all stronger and smarter food businesses. There's a lot of excitement still to come. But as that develops, never underestimate the value of picking up the telephone. If there's one thing PSFN prides ourselves on, its that we're always ready to help our customers directly.
Reflecting on 2010, we are happy to present you with this newsletter celebrating one year of PSFN. We've filled this issue with some engaging member profiles, useful tips, and well, news! We hope to see you at one or more conferences this season. Stop by and say hi.
 Lucy Norris
PSFN Project Manager
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Tips for working with your account manager to buy or sell products
by Ann Leason, Operations Manager
Membership in the Puget Sound Food Network is about more than a website. While the online tool is an integral part of the network, allowing for convenient anytime access to the PSFN Marketplace, it is important to work closely with your Account Manager to fully realize the benefits of membership. PSFN Account Managers are spread across the region and are experienced professionals in the Food and Agriculture industry. Take advantage of the PSFN staff by working with your designated Account Manager to achieve your goals of selling and sourcing locally.
1. Online Profile and Marketplace - Update your profile information and keep the Marketplace selections for your business current. PSFN is meant to be a collaborative space that will only increase in value as the members become more comfortable with the online tool. Training sessions are available. Please contact your Account Manager for more information.
2. Live Market - Each Monday, PSFN sends out our weekly Live Market email. This is a convenient way to communicate needs and specials to a wide and diverse audience. Along with keeping your profile up to date, communicate with your Account Manager when you would like to feature something in our Live Market. Any information your business would like to offer should be submitted to your Account Manager the Thursday before.
3. Communication - Keep in contact with your Account Manager. Let us know what you have to sell or what you are looking to source. As a team, PSFN staff spends the days speaking to buyers and producers and may hold answers to your questions or additional options. But your Account Manager needs to know what you have or what you want. The Puget Sound Food Network staff seeks to be advocates for our members. Keep us up to date with the happenings of your business and keep us in the forefront of your mind as we all look to close the gaps in our regional food economy. |
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Puget Sound Food Network Staff News
PSFN Welcomes Karen Mauden as PSFN's Farm to Table Coordinator
Thirty-six resumes read and eight interviews completed, Puget Sound Food Network, a project of Northwest Agriculture Business Center, is pleased to welcome Karen Mauden to our team.
Karen will be dedicated to our new CPPW funded project led by Seattle Human Services (Aging and Disability Services). She will be focused on connecting local food to Seattle's least served communities through Congregate/Home Delivered Meal Programs.
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PSFN Welcomes Emma Brewster as PSFN's Farm to Community Coordinator
Please join us in welcoming our newest AmeriCorp volunteer to NABC, Emma Brewster. Emma has accepted the position of Farm to Community Coordinator dedicated to PSFN's Healthy Eating Active Living Farm-to-Table project. Perfectly timed, Emma will attend the first scheduled meetings with HEAL project partners in Seattle.
LEARN MORE ON OUR BLOG |
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Member Highlight: Chris Wolf, Transition Whatcom
 Communities around the world known as Transition Towns are working to re-localize their food, energy, and other systems in an effort to achieve true sustainability. Chris Wolf of Transition Whatcom recently cooked a local meal for a conference of 70 leaders from such communities. We appreciate Chris' patronage of the PSFN WholeSale Market in Seattle, for this event, and look forward to hearing more about her exciting sustainability efforts in Whatcom.
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CPPW Farm to Table Update
by Emma Brewster, Farm to Community Coordinator
Puget Sound Food Network announced in July our involvement in a new and unique Farm to Table project designed to cater to some of Seattle's most underserved senior citizens. This pilot project will make fresh, healthy foods accessible to seniors by bringing local produce straight from local farms to limited-access (low-income and/or home-bound) seniors through home-delivered and congregate meal programs.
CLICK TO READ TO REST OF THIS ARTICLE
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Insider Tips for Using Live Market & Marketplace
by Elliot Trotter, Technology & Creative Services Manager
There are a lot of great products out there in the Puget Sound area, many of which are already listed on the Puget Sound Food Network. But what if you could get an extra edge to promote your products. That's, in part, why PSFN created Live Market.
Live Market is a weekly Fresh Sheet that highlights seasonal or new products and deals currently available through PSFN members. We send out this Fresh Sheet to our ENTIRE MEMBERSHIP every Monday, in which there are products being seen by tons of potential buyers.
How do I get my products listed in Live Market?
PSFN's Marketplace is the nucleus for connecting to the products that you're looking to buy or sell. The PSFN team looks there first at new products listed for products to include in Live Market. We highly recommend keeping your listings up to date in order to be a part of our weekly promotions. This means updating every week or every other week to stay ahead of the competition.
To add or edited listings, first sign in to PSFN. Go to My Products and click Post a New Product for Sale. Be sure to indicate when the product is available and when the listing should expire along with any certification information or details you can tell us about the product.
Alternately, you're always welcome to email your current offerings or fresh sheets to me at elliot@psfn.org and I will be sure to include them in our Live Market email.
Enjoy the holiday season.
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Member Highlight: Kai Ottesen, Hedlin Farms
 Now is a transition time for many family farms in the Skagit Valley. Many are beginning to incorporate organic production, and a new generation is coming on board to learn the in's and out's of farm operation.
Last week, PSFN's Emma Brewster sat down with PSFN Member, Kai Otteson, of Hedlin Farms (located outside of La Conner), to get his take on the practice and philosophy of farming, and learn about his role as a young farmer in food production in The Valley.
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Show Your PSFN Membership with a Member Badge
Show your customers that you participate in the local food economy through the Puget Sound Food Network. We are local™.
The Puget Sound Food Network is proud to honor our members who truly exemplify the mission of PSFN and contribute to the quality and sustainability of the food we eat in Western Washington.
To contact us with questions or to request a PDF copy of the 2010 PSFN Member Logo email us at info@psfn.org or copy and paste the following html code to use on your website.
<a href="http://www.psfn.org" same window><img src="http://psfn.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/adbannerPSFNFINAL.jpg"></a>
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Upcoming Events
Join PSFN staff at the following events in the 4th quarter of 2010:
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PSFN Wants Your Events & Feedback:
Send us your news and events (farm days, special dinners, press releases) to info@psfn.org and we'll share it with our membership via our calendar.
How can we help you use PSFN? How are you using it now? Send your feedback to info@psfn.org.
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Advertise/Sponsor PSFN
Notice the ad above? PSFN offers the unique opportunity to advertise your business or
products directly to a growing network of producers, buyers and
distributors.
Check out our Advertising Program and/or Sponsorship Program to learn how you can reach the right audience and support your network. |
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What's Local and In Season now?
Although the Markets are closing up shop for the season and the Food Producers are getting some much deserved down time, it's a mistake to think that the Puget Sound region doesn't still have some amazing options for sourcing locally through the winter months. Here's a list of some of the fresh and local options in the coming months. - Apples
- Beets
- Brussel Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Frozen Berries
- Garlic
- Hardy Greens
- Leeks
- Parsnips
- Pears
- Potatoes
- Quince
- Spinach
- Storage Onions
- Winter Squash
Be sure to check www.psfn.org for local producers of these and other wonderful products.
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