To increase the profitability of Orcas Island fresh, and value-added food producers through the development of a purveying system.

To facilitate the continued development and enhancement of the Orcas Island farm economy in order to:

• Ensure the supply of abundant, nutritious, locally grown food, in the quantity and in the time periods required to satisfy the needs of commercial food preparation establishments.
• Promote community self-reliance, jobs above service-sector wage rates, and keep the flow of capital circulating within the county.
• Maintain the integrity of our environment by preserving the open landscape and pastoral views of our island.

• The Saturday Farmers Market is a healthy on-going enterprise.
• A farm to school cafeteria project is presently being supported by the Orcas Island Education Foundation.
• A farm directory was produced and printed for distribution at local stores and restaurants.
• The Orcas Research Group continues to support Orcas Island farmers in the San Juan County Economic Development Council.

The objective of Orcas Provender is to build a logistics and distribution entity. It will facilitate inventory management and distribution of food and value-added products to commercial users.

• Short term, the project provides incremental revenues and employment for an important and ecologically sustainable component of the island's economy.
• Long term, this pilot project with a demonstrated record of success on Orcas Island, creates the opportunity to pursue a diversity of future funding options, including substantial grants from the federal Rural Development Agency and Agricultural Marketing Service. This follows the model of the Lopez Community Land Trust and their successful application for $400,000 to fund the first-in-the-nation, USDA-approved Mobile Meat Slaughtering Unit.
• Additional funding will enable logistics and distribution operations to be established on a countywide basis to possibly include, retail farm-to-market stores, commercial kitchens, delivery trucks which act as computer based inventory control points, and an inter-island distribution ferry.

One of the most troublesome obstacles to successful farming is lack of market access.

• Growers need to sell their products efficiently to the end commercial or retail consumer in order to maintain a profitable farming operation.
• Facilitating the relationship between local farms and restaurants and establishing contracts for the exchange of goods, secures a market for the farmers and provides fresh, high quality foods for the restaurant.
• Direct relationships have not survived in the past because of issues of volume, quality, consistency, variety, and delivery.

Orcas Provender will make it possible for chefs to more simply access the inventory of multiple local providers. This creates the ability to select from a broader range of fresh foods and removes the uncertainty associated with reliance on one source for goods whose availability is not always predictable. By having timely and efficient transportation and delivery available, Orcas Provender will give back to the farmers a significant amount of their workweek.

Flexible, but stable agreements between farmers and chefs--for the farms to grow and deliver fresh, delicious produce--to sell to the chefs to be crafted into delectable, nutritious dishes--to be sold to patrons of our local restaurants. Thus completing a simple, self-sustaining economic model of production and consumption.

As volume, variety, and delivery issues are resolved and increased revenues and profits are realized from the relationships developed by this first initiative, the benefits of a strong farm economy can be expanded to additional segments of our community.

• A Farm-to-Cafeteria program, following the model being developed by the Lopez Community Land Trust, may implemented so that our school children are provided with fresh, locally grown foods.
• Issues of food safety, the effects of pesticides, hormones and irradiation, will be avoided by sourcing food from known, trusted producers.
• The Orcas Island Farmer's Market can be supplied with a larger volume and diversity of farm products so that this popular tourist stop and local networking venue can continue to grow and showcase our farmers, artists, and island hospitality.
• The possibility of a food processing facility, like those being developed on Lopez and Waldron Islands, can be explored so that more locally grown, value-added products can be added to the shelves and flowers, fruit, and produce currently grown and not utilized can be incorporated into the supply chain.
• Additionally, organic farming has been identified as a means to leverage land preservation programs. Agricultural conservation easements can be created to provide the link between realtors, landowners, and potential tenant farmers to programs that increase the productivity of fallow land without compromising the delicate ecological balance between progress and preservation.

1. Locate and tabulate recent surveys of producers and consumers done by the Cooperative Extension office and the Lopez Community Land Trust.
2. Determine gaps in the information and develop an update survey.
3. Create an interview schedule to confirm and update data with the farmers/producers and the retail consumers-owners of restaurants, bed and breakfasts, and procurement agents for markets, schools, camps, and community organizations.
4. Research other commercial establishments that have the capacity to use locally grown fresh produce.
5. Facilitate meetings between capable farmers and interested chefs to establish produce orders and realistic delivery schedules.
6. Monitor crop success and make changes in providers and delivery schedules in order to provide chefs with 100% reliability.
7. Provide a food product delivery service on a cost basis.
8. Determine the needs and functionality of a producer to consumer database for tracking these relationships. Research and make recommendations for creation or purchase of appropriate software for a database which will tie production and delivery schedules together on a consumer-by-consumer basis.

• The cost of living in San Juan County is among the highest in the state. The rising price of land and housing combined with low wages and seasonality of employment are creating a community limited to those who can afford to live here comfortably and a struggling working class. Strengthening the existing farm economy will create and maintain jobs in the middle sector of our population. Preserving the farm-based lifestyle protects our rural landscape from development and maintains the connection of people to the source of their food.
• Large distribution corporations ferry our food over in huge semi-trucks from the mainland; that food could have come from anywhere in the world, literally. Locally grown foods can be harvested, distributed, and eaten at the peak of ripeness when they are most nutritious and inarguably most delicious. A heightened sense of security and well being in uncertain times is nurtured knowing issues of food safety can be marginalized.
• Reducing the distance goods travel from production to consumption saves precious natural resources. Increasing the viability of farming on Orcas Island maintains the quiet, charming, and historically agricultural landscape and connection to the source of our health.
• Supporting our local farm economy is supporting our neighbors and friends and encouraging an increase in livable wage jobs so the opportunity to live on this island remains a possibility for a diversity of people. Knowing the farmers who grow your food builds relationships based on understanding and trust, the foundations of strong communities.

The following organizations have been contacted, apprised of the potential project, and have expressed willingness to assist in any appropriate capacity: Orcas Island Farmer's Market Association, Slow Food Small Green Island Convivium, Island Grown Farmers Co-op, Lopez Community Land Trust, WSU Cooperative Extension, OPAL Community Land Trust, San Juan Preservation Trust, San Juan County Economic Development Council.