January 2011
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First Farm to Table Produce Delivery!
NABC Holds Co-op Event in Lynden, WA
An Interview with PSFN member Nuri Aydinel of Crown Pacific Fine Foods/Eat Local Distribution in Kent, Washington
Farm To Table Project
Saving the Family Farm - Free Conference
Promote Your Farm Business in the Whidbey Island and Skagit Valley Farm Maps
Transitioning to Value-Added Course Returns Fall 2011

nter for First Farm to Table Produce Delivery!
 

The PSFN Farm to Table team is pleased to announce the success of the very first Farm to Table delivery!   Two months ahead of schedule, the first Farm to Table delivery went off without a hitch on Wednesday. 
 

PSFN member Rosy Smit, manager of 21 Acres Farm in Woodinville, personally brought 50 lbs of leeks to Chicken Soup Brigade/Lifelong AIDS Alliance on Capitol Hill.   Rosy harvested the leeks herself that very morning - it doesn't get much fresher than that!   
 

Head Chef, Jim Watkins, and his team prepared the leeks Thursday as Caribbean tilapia dish with lime and leeks.  The dish was served with rice pilaf, yams, and mixed vegetables.  The PSFN F2T team was able to speak with several Chicken Soup Brigade kitchen staff and volunteers and they were all excited about the product and excited about getting more local produce! 
 

Chef Watkins grew up on a family farm in Virginia, himself, and had very

L to R: Jim Watkins, Wendy Northcutt, Rosy Smit
Left to right: Jim Watkins, Head Chef and Wendy Northcutt, Sous Chef at Chicken Soup Brigade/Lifelong AIDS Alliance, with Rosy Smit, Farm Manager, 21 Acres Farm in Woodinville, WA

kind words to say about the important work our local farmers are doing.  
 

Congratulations to 21 Acres and to Chicken Soup Brigade for making the first successful Farm to Table linkage! 
 

PSFN and the CPPW Farm to Table Partnership is very confident that we're on our way to a smoothly operating and sustainable Farm to Table model! 
 

If you're a farmer interested in selling to the Farm to Table project, or are interested learning more, contact Karen Mauden, Farm to Table Coordinator at (425) 466-8722; Karen@psfn.org. 
 

To learn about PSFN's Farm to Table Project, a CDC-Funded Communities Putting Prevention to Work partnership, please read our blog post.

NABC Holds Co-op Event in Lynden, WA

 NABC Co-op Event

NABC held the event Cooperating For Market Expansion on December 10 in Lynden, WA. A diversity of agricultural producers and support professionals attended the event which featured Michael Simon, owner of Applecart Fruit, Tonasket WA. Applecart Fruit is also a member of the Okanogan  Producers Marketing Association, a marketing cooperative owned by six farms located in Okanogan County. A video presenting the story of the cooperative was shared with the audience. Then Simon shared some of the background of the cooperative including the development and organizing phase, and how the co-op currently operates including staffing structure and marketing relationships.

 The event also featured Laura Ridenour, Sustainable Connections Food& Farming Program Manager. Ridenour shared recent survey information on consumer viewpoints and trends surrounding local food in Whatcom County. This event was followed by Producer Owned Business Structures Pooling Resources for Market and Business Expansion, an event that was just held in Bellingham on January 26. Both of these events were made possible with grant funding support from the USDA Rural Development Department, the WSDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, and the Whatcom Community Foundation.

An Interview with PSFN member Nuri Aydinel of Crown Pacific Fine Foods/Eat Local Distribution in Kent, Washington

Nuri Aydinel

Tell us a little bit about your background?

 

I came to Washington when I was sixteen as a foreign exchange student from Turkey.  My family has been farming primarily cotton in Turkey so I have a little background with that.  Cotton is an important agricultural export and quite popular so that's why my parents did it.

 

I came back to Washington when I was 18 to attend college because I already had friends here, knew the area and the schools. I majored in Business and Economics and graduated from University of Washington. 

 

I am relatively new to the food industry but I was familiar with local food production back in Turkey. It was normal to visit the markets with all kinds of fresh produce that looked and tasted delicious.  I first met Tony Ataee (Founder, Crown Pacific), because I was thinking of importing Turkish apricots.  As I talked with Tony, I realized it was not feasible for me to do because the margins were too small. So I began helping out around here and then jumped right in when the opportunity came up. I've been with Crown Pacific for about a year.  Now I help build the business, expand into new growth markets, etc.

 

What can you tell us about Crown Pacific Fine Foods and something called Eat Local Distribution?

 

Crown Pacific was founded in 1982.  We are a small business, less than 35 employees.  We have an 80,000 sq. ft. facility in Kent and stock over 9,000 specialty foods, confections and a full line of food service deli items. We ship to our customers either via our fleet of refrigerated trucks that drive up to Bellingham and down to Olympia, or via UPS or other common carriers.  Although we do business outside the area, our core is here in Northwest Washington.

 

We recently created a subdivision called Eat Local Distribution. We are building distribution solutions for local producers. With 30 years of experience in the food industry, Crown Pacific Fine Foods has established a strong distribution network in the Northwest. Every day, we deliver fine confections and gourmet specialty goods to hundreds of retailers and restaurants across the region. We take pride in our flexible transportation solutions for various needs at a fraction of the cost by utilizing the existing network. We want to share our experience and tools through our new subsidiary Eat Local Distribution. Eat Local Distribution is a local hub that connects producers with restaurants and retailers. At Eat Local Distribution we can create customized solutions for local distribution needs, helping local producers play a larger part in the local agricultural food network.

 

What makes Crown Pacific unique?

I think what makes us unique is our flexibility.  We work well with retailers like Whole Foods Market and PCC, because we can deliver according to their needs, we can have our employees in the stores taking care of products, whatever they need, we are flexible enough to create a the ideal situation for them. While retailers/food service benefits from our work, we figured local producers could also benefit.  We can accept drop offs here seven days a week or we can go to the farm and pick it up. It doesn't have to be impossible for us be the delivery agent for local producers. Our goal is to create distribution solutions for local producers.

 

To be honest, we believe producers should maintain their direct relationships with their buyers. We think producers are much better suited to represent themselves to their buyers than we can. When it comes to distribution, we can make it a lot more efficient, cost effective and just easier for everyone if we manage the deliveries ourselves. We can also pick up product from the farm (if it's a large enough volume) bring it to our facilities, put in on the same pallet, on the same refrigerated truck that was going to the store already, and just take it there. Producers don't have to take a day off, drive all over the region dropping off products to 10 different buyers. Considering the expense of a delivery truck and maintenance, and paying $10 an hour for a driver, we actually help producers save time, money and fuel. 

 

What kinds of products are you equipped to deliver for local producers?

 

We are interested in coordinating deliveries for Puget Sound area meat, cheese, dry goods, artisan and other value added producers. Highly perishable fruits and vegetables like lettuces, greens, etc. probably won't work well with our service model.  We currently have a Northwest catalog of specialty items and we're expanding our business into developing a catalog with farmed and artisan products as well.  We just need more local producers involved.

 

All of our trucks are refrigerated.  If produce is relatively stable, we can arrange for the producer to drop it here in Kent once or twice a week, and even on weekends. It may stay for a few days before it's shipped out so we just don't want to take a risk with highly perishable products.  Almost all the area retailers are our customers. Town and Country (Central Markets), PCC, Whole Foods, Metropolitan Market, QFC- they are all our customers.  While it's hard for local producers to get their products into PCC, we can take them on as a producer.  If they are interested in creating the relationship with a retailer or restaurant, we can work to get their products there.  It's more expensive for a producer to drive to Whole Foods Market to drop off a case of squash. Working with us can often be the less expensive route for producers.

 

When it comes to ideal working relationships with retailers, it makes sense to have a central hub.  The missing link is often the right distributor who encourages the small to medium sized producer to maintain close relationships with their buyers. 

 

You became a member in November 2010.  What are you looking forward to in 2011?

 

We are looking forward to participating in PSFN's Seattle and Skagit wholesale markets this summer to help with deliveries.  We are also looking forward to going to more events like the next Farmer Fisher Chef Connection.  We already attended the Cascade Harvest Coalition's Food and Finance Summit and we got to know some producers in Port Townsend.  We are ultimately hoping to work with many more local producers so we can help move their product into places where people shop and eat food on a daily basis.

 

I've been going to farmers markets and talking with producers.  Some are ready for our service but didn't know it, while others are honestly not ready for what we can do for them.  I think the most important thing is for producers to have enough production to sell to customers ranging from restaurants to grocery stores.  If your business is up and running, and you have volumes of quality product, we want to work with you. I joined PSFN to connect with producers who are ready for business.

 

What's the best way to reach you?

 

I can be reached through my PSFN profile (provide link) or by cell phone seven days a week (daytime hours only please) at 425-760-2854.  Or contact your PSFN account manager for further questions. Email [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

Farm To Table Project

Farm To Table flyer2

    Contact Karen Mauden: [email protected] or 425-466-8722

Saving the Family Farm - Free Conference

On February 4th, 2011, join the Office of Farmland Preservation along with conference sponsors Wealth Counsel and Union Bank for a Continuing Education opportunity for attorneys focused on succession planning training for farm families in our state. 
 
This complimentary one day conference will be held in Everett, WA at the Union Bank headquarters auditorium from 8am until 1:30 pm.  Registration begins at 7:30 am.  A locally prepared, locally sourced lunch will be provided.
 
Participants will hear from estate planning experts that specialize in working with farm families, tax specialists giving us a state of the farming community, and much more.


Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to earn CE credits at no cost.


To register, contact Amy Ward with Union Bank, Wealth Advisory Sales Associate, Marketing Coordinator:

Direct 206 587 4751 | Fax 206 587 3686
Union Bank | 901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1200
MC 6-004-490 | Seattle, Washington 98164
[email protected] | unionbank.com

 

Promote Your Farm Business in the Whidbey Island and Skagit Valley Farm Maps

Skagit

The Skagit Valley Farm Map & Guide and the Whidbey Island Farm Map & Guide invite help connect consumers searching for local products and family-oriented "agri-tainment" and the local farms, farmers markets, restaurants and other agriculture-related businesses that welcome visitors and offer direct or retail sales. These maps are popular with both farmers and tourists; the Whidbey Island farm map has helped promote local farms and farm products since 2001, while the Skagit Valley map has been published since 2003. The full-color glossy brochures feature easy-to-read maps and business information, and serve as durable and handy reference guides showcasing farm stands, wineries, petting farms, events and products all year long.

 

 

Available free to the public through hotels, visitor centers, chambers of commerce and other high-traffic brochure rack stations, the maps are published every spring in time to greet the arrival of the new growing season and increase in visitor travel. Skagit Valley and Whidbey Island farms, farm-related businesses and supporters of local agriculture may purchase space for business listings or full-color ads in the map that covers their region and take advantage of these effective promotional tools. For more information, please contact Sera Hartman at the Northwest Agriculture Business Center office by phone at 360-336-3727, or email

 

 

 View the 2010 maps through the links below: 

2010 Skagit Valley Farm Map & Guide  

2010 Whidbey Island Farm Map, "Whidbey's Country Farms"

 

 

 

Transitioning to Value-Added Course Returns Fall
 The Northwest Agriculture Business Center will offer the intensive business developement course Transitioning to Value-Added Products again this fall. The ten-month long course is designed to help farm, ranch, and nursery/greenhouse producers develop more economically profitable value-added products and bring the products to the commercial market place. Please contact Jake Fowler at the NABC office for more information: 360-336-3727 or [email protected]