Hi Michael, I could not find your web page. Beth
> LOCALHARVEST.COM CONNECTS PEOPLE & FOOD ONLINE AND OFFLINE
>
> SANTA CRUZ, CA -- Ocean Group, a Santa Cruz based internet engineering
> company, has developed a unique way for farmers and consumers to connect
> both
> on-line and off-line. The web site, aptly named LocalHarvest.com, enables
> farmers to post their product information so that hungry web-surfers can
get
> fresh locally grown food directly from the farmer, or through their local
> farmers' market.
>
> LocalHarvest.com has created a new opportunity for farmers to increase
their
> earnings, and at the same time provide urban people with a social
connection
> to farming, and a healthy, fresh food supply. By simply logging on to
> LocalHarvest.com, anyone can access information about farmers' markets and
> small farms located anywhere in the US. The site also provides
information
> about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), a direct marketing format in
> which member-subscribers pay a seasonal fee to receive weekly shipments of
> fresh produce, which vary in content according to the season.
>
> For farmers that are registered with the site, LocalHarvest.com provides
an
> inexpensive marketing tool to reach thousands of people who are interested
> in
> knowing more about agriculture and product availability. Registration is
> free for producers through the year 2000.
>
> "Our 'online/offline' approach to regenerating local food systems has a
very
> positive impact on consumers, growers, and communities," stated Erin
> Barnett,
> Project Coordinator for Local Harvest, "Through LocalHarvest.com,
consumers
> find ways to make personal connections with farmers, enjoy 'fresh from the
> vine' foods, and support the local economy."
>
> According to the USDA 1998 National Commission on Small Farms, from 1910
to
> 1990 the share of the agricultural economy received by farmers dropped
from
> 20% to 5%. As large corporations such as Monsanto and Archer Daniels
> Midland
> gain greater profits and control over agriculture, small farmers reap
fewer
> benefits. The economic depletion is evident in the number of small farms
> that
> have gone out of business in the past 50 years -- two-thirds in the U.S.
> alone. The social and cultural impact on communities has also been
> devastating.
>
> "Unless there is a reversal in the decline of family farms and rural
> communities," argues Karen Lehman, Senior Fellow at the Institute for
> Agriculture and Trade Policy, "our increasingly urban societies will be
> entirely dependent on multinational corporations that will someday own the
> farm land and hire 'farm managers' to work it."
>
> However, the down side of big agribusiness may be the very thing that
helps
> alter the trend of declining small farms. The average "fresh" produce in
a
> grocery store is 7-14 days old and has traveled approximately 1,400
> environmentally expensive miles to get there, losing nutrition and taste
> along the way. Many consumers who desire a healthy lifestyle find this
> unappealing and have started to change their shopping habits by supporting
> farmers' markets and CSAs.
>
> The USDA tracks over 2,500 farmers' markets across the country, and
> according
> to Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture, "The growth in the number of
> farmers' markets across the nation illustrates the importance of the
bridge
> between farmers and consumers."
>
> Ocean Group is an Internet engineering company committed to making
> technology
> available to nonprofit organizations with 20% of staff time devoted to
> non-commercial projects. In addition to collaborating with nonprofit
> organizations, Ocean Group occasionally owns projects, such as
> LocalHarvest.com, that reflect the company's values, but are
not-for-profit
> ventures. The company can be found on the web at www.oceangroup.com. For
>
> more information on LocalHarvest.com or Ocean Group contact: Erin Barnett
at
> (831) 466-0700, or erinb@oceangroup.com.
>
> #####
>
> Michael Straus
> Beyond Organic
> 22890 Highway 1
> Marshall, CA 94940
> 415-663-8343 phone
> 415-663-8346 fax
> info@beyondorganic.com
>
>
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