Local Action for a Sustainable Tomorrow

We had a lively discussion about Sequim Locally Grown Mercantile. Here are some of the highlights:
1. The group decided a neutral distribution point is preferred. Laura will check on the availability of the Sequim Valley Grange for Thursday afternoons.
2. Ann will assist with the bookkeeping aspect of the Mercantile. Having the farmers/growers pay their $40 one time fee upfront will give some working capital to pay them for their deliveries upfront before the payments are received from the customers.
3. Cash will be the preferred method of payment from the customers. As an option, customers can "deposit" a check into their SLGM account so that their positive balance can pay for their orders. If the check is written to Cash, then SLGM may be able to avoid taking ownership of any product and thus avoiding any problems that may develop in coming between the farmer/grower and the customer??
4. Dick will work on a flyer to advertise SLGM.
5. Betty is available to help with taking photos of products and farmers/growers.
6. Jim will investigate the legal issues, ie how the business should be set up - corporation, LLC, non-profit, etc along with business licensing requirements and appropriate type of bank account.
7. Sid is available to assist anyone in listing their products on the website and will continue to maintain the website.
8. Rich will help in the distribution of the flyers and getting the word out. We actually will all do this and might involve presentations to local groups.
9. Denise will assist Johnston Farm in getting setup as they are comfortable on the website and listing their products.
10. Steve Johnson of Lazy J Tree Farm submitted his $40 fee to SLGM and has joined as a grower. He plans to start listing some product with the help of Vicki.
11. Sid will be available to pickup orders that are less than $100 from the farmers/growers and deliver to the distribution point in his electric pickup to encourage farmers/growers to participate at the initial low level. This will give us an opportunity to work out the bugs of the system before the busy harvest time.
12. The previous Tuesday night meeting with the farmers/growers was positive in the support of SLGM.
Everyone remains optimistic about SLGM and its benefit to the community.