Food as Medicine Program

Program length:

• 14 weeks, July 8-Oct 7

• Boxes will be distributed to program participants every Wednesday afternoon  

What we need from farmers:

We want to buy from you! Our local farms are a critical part of this program’s success. Each box will contain products from multiple farms in the community. 

What we will buy:

We are focusing on produce, but we may also buy eggs, maple syrup, and other items that fall under product of the farm exclusion. We will also consider value-added goods from a licensed food business (not a cottage food producer). 

How to participate:

There are two ways to participate in this program:

1. As a partner committed to selling to us each week. 

   1. We are looking to buy in quantities of 10. For example, we may buy 10 bunches of carrots from you one week, and 20 heads of lettuce and 10 cartons of cherry tomatoes from you the next week (depending on what you have available). This is a good fit for a farmer who is confident they will have at least 10 units of something available to sell each week. 

2. As an ad-hoc partner who sells to us as product is needed and available. 

   1. We will reach out to this group after orders are placed with the committed partners. We will still prioritize buying in quantities of 10, but will consider smaller orders as needed. 

We expect that all farmer partners will:

• Be responsive via text message. 

• Wash and package products before delivery (i.e., bag lettuce, bunch carrots).

• Be able to drop off orders at the Cook County Community Center between 8am-12pm on Wednesdays. If the drop off window is an issue for you, let us know and we may be able to arrange an accommodation.

• Issue invoices to the Northwoods Food Project the same day orders are delivered. We can provide you with an invoice template if you need one.

Northwoods Food Project will:

• Reach out to farmer partners on Wednesday or Thursday to place orders for the next week’s boxes.

• Place orders for the following week by Friday at 5pm. 

• Communicate with farmers about how the program is going and/or provide prompt feedback as issues arise.

• Issue payment via check within 2 weeks of receiving an invoice.

• Coordinate the packing of boxes.

• Hold the proper Wholesale Food Handler license with the MN Dept of Ag

It is our hope that this program will expand into a reliable revenue stream for local producers and raise awareness about the potential of our local food system to meet community needs. 

We also want to emphasize that we are doing this for the first time and learning as we go! We want this to be an attractive sales outlet for you– please give us feedback at any time about how to make that happen. 

Program participants will be referred to the program by their health care providers based on food security, health needs, and interest.

 If you would like to support the Food as Medicine program or the work of the Northwoods Food Project more broadly, please consider making a donation!