Curtis Coleman went to the Farmer’s Market every weekend. He loved spending hours wandering the Saturday market to take everything in. But he knew he was lucky to do so.

Coleman realized that many people do not have the time to make it to the market regularly but, like him, they still considered it a valuable resource.

“You can get a lot of your diet right there. If you could put it all on an easy-to-use website you could reach a huge portion of the community and help them eat local and organic,” Coleman said.

So Fresh n Local was born.

Fresh n Local allows users to order Farmers’ Market food online and delivers the food right to the customer’s door.

Orders for food close on Monday evening and are delivered on Wednesday at the customer’s preferred time.

The site carries wares similar to those at the central market store on the Farmers’ Market premises, offering a selection of vegetables, grains and meats. Coleman takes the from-farm-to-table concept a step further. He delivers.

“The goal of this is to have people eat local,” Coleman said. So it only made sense to make that easier for more people to do.

The online-only service is all about convenience. When Coleman says he delivers, he means it. He’s been known to meet customers at the Broadway Roastery or distribute out of town. It comes down to the customer’s preference, and he tries to make the experience personal.

“Most online businesses don’t have that human interaction. I try to arrange for you to be home,” Coleman said.

The people-first model he employs allows him to adapt to customer expectations rapidly.

He charges all of six dollars for the convenience, and if the order tops $50, he drops the delivery fee entirely.

As for the actual food, he has a priority list not necessarily in-line with that of the overall market. True to his company’s name, he has prioritized the availability of local and organic foods above all else. If a product is not available that is both local and organic, he looks for local products first, then organic products. After that, he considers imports, fair trade and direct trade items.

“I don’t bring something into my store unless I know it is sustainably sourced food,” Coleman said.

Plus, he adds a couple of products every week.

In addition to the fresh vegetables synonymous with Farmers’ Markets, Fresh n Local offers a line of organic groceries including soup, cookies, various milks and mylks (vegan dairy supplements), beans, grains and rice.

Keeping in mind his own sustainable values, he drops dry goods off in 70 per cent recycled plastic containers. He packs frozen and fresh foods in a cooler that uses styrofoam and cardboard as insulation. The next week he picks them back up for reuse.

“I don’t think people realize how convenient it is,” he said.

Coleman’s own favourite products?

“Hemp heart and sesame bread is awesome,” he said. “That’s my go-to product every week. And the cherry tomatoes. It’s hard to find a Farmers’ Market-comparable tomato in a grocery store.”

Without a doubt, he’s right about those tomatoes.

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Graphic: Samantha Braun/The Sheaf