In Sequim, Washington, Local Action for a Sustainable Tomorrow (LAST), recently launched an innovative new project to connect growers with consumers: the Sequim Locally Grown Mercantile.

Here's what Sid Maroney, Coordinator of LAST, had to say about the project:

How did it all start?

LAST identified 12+ primary focus areas for a community to be sustainable.  Food security surfaced as one of the most important of
these.  After learning about how our current food system is set up, we got real concerned and saw an urgency to the situation.  We also began to recognize the positve impact that buying locally grown food and locally produced products could have for a community's sustainability.

We first considered a "bricks and mortar" food coop but this became prohibitive because of the cost and startup time required.  I found
www.locallygrown.net and realized that things could move much faster with an online local food/products store.  Sequim.LocallyGrown.net was born.

What has the response been so far?

We are currently in our 4th week and have done almost $3200 in sales.  People are loving it from both the buying as well as the selling side.  We have 138 households and 21 growers/producers signed up.  Not only are we increasing our food security but we are also redeveloping community connections.  This in turn leads to enhancing our local economy which contributes to our sustainability.  We are Putting Our Money Where Our Heart Is!

The mission?

Sequim Locally Grown Mercantile hopes to develop into a large group of farmers, growers, and producers located around Sequim, Washington. Each grower farms his/her land using strict standards to ensure that everything produced is chemical-free. All member farms are dedicated to supplying their customers with the freshest and highest quality vegetables, herbs, mill products, dairy, eggs, meats, fruits, flowers, and transplants. Participating farms vary in size and specialty, but all carry the common thread of dedication to community, environment, health and education.

For more information, visit the LAST homepage or browse Sequim.LocallyGrown.net

Contact:
Sid Maroney
Sequim Locally Grown Mercantile
http://sequim.locallygrown.net
olylast @yahoo.com
360-808-7300