The past year has seen its fair share of new online ordering systems and doorstep delivery services in and outside of the local food system. Very few of these tools, however, combine an exclusive focus on local food with the ease of online ordering and the convenience of delivery. The exception is Market Wagon– an online farmers market and local food delivery service that allows customers to shop directly from local farmers and food businesses in their region.
Started in 2016, Market Wagon was developed by Nick Carter and Dan Brunner. Nick Carter, CEO and Co-founder, an Indiana farm kid turned tech entrepreneur, decided to leverage his tech skills to better small family farms.
“Agriculture is one of the last remaining professions that gets passed on from generation to generation, and it’s in peril,” Carter says. “Buying from a local farm is an investment in food for future generations. We are now democratizing local food. Anybody can get this, anybody can shop this way, and we can deliver it to the door.”
Market Wagon’s goal is to help food producers thrive in their local markets by conveniently connecting them with consumers. Carter sees facilitating sales as just one way to meet this mission and notes that relationships are also critical to the local food system. To this end, Market Wagon has a built-in social platform to allow customers to message farmers, follow them for updates directly and you can even invite friends now to the social platform. You can chat with your friends about your favorite local finds and discover new vendors and products from your friends’ suggestions.
This is meant to mimic the conversations and connections that might be had at an in-person farmers market, something that is missing from most online ordering options.
While Market Wagon started in Indiana, it rapidly expanded as the COVID-19 shuttered farmers markets and emptied grocery stores. Today, Market Wagon operates 29 local markets in 16 states. Michigan has three regional markets: West, Mid, and Southeast, with over 150 local vendors.
Michiganders in any of Market Wagon’s broad market areas can place an order without any subscription or sign-up fees. Once orders are placed, farmers are notified once per week to bring their product to a central fulfillment center. From here, the Market Wagon team assembles the orders and ships them out for delivery, all on the same day. This way, recipients receive produce as freshly as possible from the producer.
Save on Your First Market Wagon Order
Folks interested in getting fresh, local food delivered to their door can get $20 of their first order of $40 or with the code LOCALDIFFERENCE at marketwagon.com/localdifference