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AUGUST 2008 SURVEY RESULTS Through August 2008 Six Rivers Market conducted a survey to determine community interest in an online local food cooperative.

• A total of 125 surveys were collected.
• 70% of Responders would support a web-based market
• 40% of Responders would like a retail market
• 85% of Responders are comfortable ordering over the web
• 80% of Responders are able to pick up orders in Sandpoint
• 89% of Responders would support a local food market when product availability is low
• 18% of the Responders would want a delivery service

Concerns and how we plan to address them

Lack of physical contact with product before purchase

• Most producers hold to a high standard of quality, which we would also ensure as much as possible.  We would also have samples of product available as much as possible, and hold annual events where producers can physically display their product.  Someone made the suggestion for product to be photographed next to a ruler—great idea! 

• Unsecure Data
  • Six Rivers Market will simply hold contact information for each member.  All credit card transactions will initially be through a well-established, secure 3rd party service such as Paypal where we will have no contact with the information.
• Pick-up time
  • We will do all we can to make the time as convenient as possible for both Producers who are dropping product off earlier, and for consumers picking up product.  The time will likely be something like 4:30 to 6:30 PM.
• Product Availability
  • Having enough product will be our biggest hurdle.  New producers continue to pop up each month, however, and we will also do all we can to search out new producers.  We will hold to a 250 mile definition of local to enable us to reach out as necessary.  We will also do all we can to be a resource for developing producers.  The low-overhead nature of the market should enable any one with a patch of dirt to try their hand at market gardening.
• Development into a full retail cooperative
  • Six Rivers Market will start simply and start small.  We will focus on local product and how to make local product more accessible to the community.   Six Rivers Market will grow with the community, as local supply and demand allows.  We have no intent to bring in outside product.  Six Rivers Market will begin with a small, physical site to run our office, transfer product, and to have regular open hours to offer assistance to producer and consumer members.  Perhaps that site will develop into more of a cooperative storefront sometime down the road, but for now we just want to establish what we have started!