The Cascade Harvest Coalition blog just did a piece on a new CSA concept: sailing local produce from the Kitsap Peninsula to the Shilshole Bay Marina and then selling it directly to consumers. Their goal is to transport the food by means of engineless sailing, creating zero carbon emissions. Apparently the first shipment was a success, selling out in just a few hours.
The folks at Cascade Harvest wondered how the folks at the Ballard Farmers' Market felt about the competition. I haven't spoken to them about it directly, but it's my guess that they'd be really excited to see this new model for local food distribution getting started. This isn't the kind of scenario where there's a limited demand, and sales through one channel cut into sales somewhere else. It's more of a situation where rising awareness and rising demand is in everyone's best interests.
When I first started vending at farmers' markets there were only two weekly markets within the Seattle city limits. Now there are eleven markets each week during the summer, and both the newer and the more established markets continue to grow, in spite of the competition. The more people are turned on to this kind of food, the more they spread the word and look for as many opportunities as possible to buy local produce.
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