INITIATIVES

Aligning Values Between Producers and Buyers

Beyond offering access to a robust local market, Farmstand Local Foods also offers services that help connect you to relationship-based sales.

on-farm experiences

We host trips to our partner farms throughout the season for chefs and their kitchen teams to intimately connect with the producers from whom they purchase. These opportunities allow our customers to gain invaluable insight about unique varieties of crops and livestock, seasonal availability, and to create innovative collaboration between farmers and chefs. Tours leave in a vanpool from 21 Acres in Woodinville mid-morning and return early afternoon. These tours create lasting memories and often directly lead to long standing connections between buyers and producers. Click below to register your kitchen team for a complimentary farm tour today.

Register Here

forward contracting

Farmstand Local Foods works to create contractual sales opportunities for farmers by addressing the volume and price fluctuations associated with seasonality. We help identify supply and demand in successive seasons to create mutually beneficial agreements between local producers and buyers. We actively seek purchasers willing to help farmers reduce their financial risk by committing to purchasing product long before it is harvested.  

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networking events and opportunities

We believe that direct face time with our local producers helps create educated and committed customers.  Similar to a shopper at a farmers market, we provide a venue for chefs, kitchen and dining staff, and other foodservice professionals to meet their farmers firsthand. We host periodic networking events and seasonal celebrations throughout the year in both rural and urban settings to help producers and customers discuss their needs and challenges and plan for the season ahead.

sourcing promotion

We provide tools to chefs and buyers that help convey their commitment to sourcing locally. For those who want to feature specific farms or products throughout their menu or through social media and other marketing channels, we share photos of farms, farmers, products and other relevant material that effectively illustrate the entire sourcing process to the end customer. 

friends

Farmstand Local Foods has an aggregation site located at the north end of the Sammamish Valley at 21 Acres: Center for Local Food & Sustainable Living, a nonprofit with the worthy mission to inspire action to solve climate challenges by learning as a community to grow, eat and live sustainably. Our team acknowledges the tremendous staff expertise available at 21 Acres — a committed group of individuals who have generously contributed to growing a strong local food economy.

We are excited to be working with Cascade Cooperative Farms, an upstart Co-op of egg and poultry producers that consolidate marketing and distribution logistics in order to meet the burgeoning demand for pasture-raised eggs and poultry in Seattle. Farmers who participate in the egg co-op utilize sustainable poultry raising practices, such as avoiding GMO-feed and providing chickens with ample access to green space, sunshine, and roosters. Birds are allowed to root, peck and forage for insects and grubs as they roam cage-free. We think eggs from contended hens and ducks have a more vibrant, flavorful yolk and are more healthful than conventionally produced options. Learn more about the Cascade Cooperative Farms here.

Since 2011, the City of Seattle has partnered with the HumanLinks Foundation and local food distributors to provide participating childcare centers in the city with fresh, local and sustainably grown produce. Childcare center sites are granted funding to order any of the local ingredients that we offer to chefs at high end restaurants. Site directors go above and beyond to incorporate this food into the kids diets in exciting ways and in turn have seen kid’s attitudes and excitement regarding their fruits and veggies shift dramatically.

Farmstand Local Foods and the City of Seattle are excited to announce that through both our hard work and advocacy, the program will now be funded in perpetuity from the newly implemented Sweetened Beverage Tax. We want to sincerely thank the HumanLinks Foundation for their unprecedented support that laid the foundation for this worthy program to now grow and thrive for many years to come. 

The Sno Valley Farmers Co-op works with a dedicated group of farmers in the Snoqualmie and Snohomish Valleys and coordinates a multi-farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. A handful of the participating farms also sell through FLF. We encourage all commercial buyers to consider participating in the SnoValley Co-op, either by encouraging customers to subscribe or by sponsoring an employee CSA and serving as a drop spot. The synergies between this CSA model while also sourcing local food for the commercial kitchen are inherent and reinforce the value proposition of building a local food economy. If a chef is at all interested in an institutional size CSA, be sure to contact us at Farmstand Local Foods.

If you’re an individual and interested in subscribing to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, we encourage you to connect with SnoValley Co-op. Learn more here.

Farmstand Local Foods has an aggregation site located at Goose and Gander Farm in Carnation in the meandering Snoqualmie river valley. Situated above the floodplain, Goose and Gander serves as a central node/drop-off location for several local food organizations including the Sno Valley Farmers Coop CSA program and the Egg Co-op. Centralizing distribution from this convenient location provides ample benefits to the micro-region by cutting down on drive times and providing a platform for organizations to collaborate and build community. 

Sno Valley Tilth’s mission is to support organic and sustainable food and fiber production throughout the Snoqualmie and Snohomish watersheds. We bring together farmers and the community to build a thriving local food system

21 acres

Farmstand Local Foods is incubated by the 21 Acres Center for Local Food & Sustainable Living, a nonprofit located in Woodinville, Washington. 21 Acres’ mission is to inspire action to solve climate challenges by learning as a community to grow, eat and live sustainably. The Farmstand Local Food teams is pleased to draw upon the staff expertise at 21 Acres – a committed group of professionals at the nonprofit organization working to build the local food economy. Without the support of 21 Acres and the HumanLinks Foundation, the incubation of Farmstand would not have been possible.

cascade cooperative farms

We have an exciting relationship with Cascade Cooperative Farms which is a new cooperative of egg and poultry producers. We are helping the co-op with marketing and logistics to meet the huge demand for pasture-raised eggs and poultry. The farmers who participate in the egg co-op all commit to sustainable practices such as avoiding GMO-feed and providing chickens with ample access to green space and beautiful sunlight. Birds are allowed to root and peck, spending their days eating insects and doing activities that are natural for chickens. Eggs from happy hens often have a brighter and more vibrant yolk due to spending so much time outside, they are also more healthful and flavorful than conventional produced options. Learn more about the Cascade Cooperative Farms here.

city of seattle farm to table program

Since 2011, the City of Seattle has partnered with the HumanLinks Foundation and local food distributors to provide participating childcare centers in the city with fresh, local and sustainably grown produce. Childcare center sites are granted funds to order any of the fine ingredients that we offer to chefs at high end restaurants. Site directors go above and beyond to incorporate this food into children’s diets through fun and relatable menus, and in turn watch kids’ attitudes and excitement for their fruits, veggies, and other locally produced foods shift dramatically.

snovalley farmers cooperative

Farmstand Local Foods has a symbiotic relationship with Sno Valley Farmers Co-op (SVFC) and the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program they operate. The SVFC works with farms throughout the Snoqualmie River valley to offer a CSA that features a comprehensive taste of the Snoqualmie watershed. We encourage our buyers to consider participating in the SnoValley Co-op, either by inviting customers to subscribe or by coordinating an employee CSA. Supporting this CSA model while also sourcing local food for the commercial kitchen are inherently beneficial for farmers and reinforce the values of building a local food economy.

If you’re an individual and interested in subscribing to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, we encourage you to connect with SnoValley Co-op. Learn more here.