Word from the West

West of Ireland food writer Anne Marie Carroll, tells us all about a brilliant Galway food initiative - an online farmers’ market called Larder 360

“Larder 360 makes getting your hands on locally produced, high quality food products extremely easy… It’s the same as any supermarket online delivery service.”

The idea of a community co-op was a recurring theme at the recent Taste Council of Ireland Food Summer School 2016, organised in association with Bord Bia and held at the end of August at The BrookLodge, Macreddin Village, Co. Wicklow.

That idea is already a reality in Galway city where Larder360.com has recently established itself as a new and exciting initiative, a Galway-based collaboration making small production food more readily available. It is, in essence, an online farmer’s market.

The idea originated from Declan Droney of Kinvara Salmon and Brendan Allen from Castlemine Farm who have experimented with this co-operative model before now. As local producers both Declan and Brendan faced the same challenges as their peers working in the current food supply system. The system only benefits the distributors and large super market chains who are driven by profit margin - and not always quality of product. They recognised this as an opportunity for change.

Local consumers want the best fresh produce available at competitive prices - local producers want a closer connection to their customers and to be fairly compensated for their products. Declan, Brendan and Ronan Byrne (The Friendly Farmer) were already selling their farm produce to their own customer base.

Larder 360 was developed to operate as a shared economy, pooling the resources of many. Instead of each setting up a website of their own, one central website was built, a platform helping producers to be more visible and more accessible. This way the producers themselves can log in and upload whatever they want, enabling them to compete more effectively in the marketplace. Its a one-stop shop for all the best local farm produce, catering to customers who are looking for quality and care in their food, and making those kind of goods as easy to get as your weekly shop online from a big supermarket.

The range is very impressive with great variety, from tea to fresh fish to oils and sauces and it is growing all the time. There were over 150 products on offer at last count. In the few months since they have been up and running the feedback has been largely positive. Looking at the figures, retention levels are encouragingly high - 76% of customers have shopped with them two or more times, and 30% have placed 5 or more orders.

With the continuing controversy over meat labelling customers value having produce they can trust and, with these smaller producers, everything is traceable and freshness is the driving force. Orders are taken twice a week, with deliveries on Tuesday and Friday. Delivering twice weekly means everything perishable you get in your delivery has been produced within four or five days. Meat arrives vacuum packed with no chance of spillage. They have a “food hub” at their base across from the Maldron Hotel Oranmore, where they keep some of the items with a longer shelf life, like coffee and jarred goods.

Larder 360 deliver to either the home or to the workplace, dropping off the groceries there so people can just pack it into the car as they’re going home. The order arrives in a smart, branded cooler box with plenty of ice. There’s no need for you to wait around for a delivery, they can just pop it round by the back door and it will be perfectly fine until you get back.

Currently they are delivering to NUIG, GMIT, IBM, Boston Scientific and Medtronic and adding to this list all the time. Larder 360 makes getting your hands on locally produced, high quality food products extremely easy. The same as any supermarket online delivery service but with the most important difference being the quality of the products available.

I like to make sure I buy good quality products and do my bit to support local producers when possible. However, I don’t always have the time to get to all the different shops and stalls which stock my favourite products so I was happy to give Larder 360 a whirl. My first order wasn’t too big, just a few Castlemine sausages and rashers and some chowder mix and fish from Gannet Fishmongers, things I usually get at the Saturday market. There was some steak also and horseradish sauce from Gran Grans Foods range.

The website was simplicity itself to use and delivery ran like clockwork. Everything was of the highest quality and I found no down side to the service, in fact I have started putting together my next order. I have my sights set on a nice chicken carcass for stock as well as some chicken livers and pork belly. Maybe a fruit and veg box from Greenearth Organics and some Bluebell Falls goats cheese...

It is not just for the keen cook though. There are excellent ready meals and soups from Yum Tree Kitchen and a sticky toffee pudding or good quality bar of chocolate for afters. Did I mention the wines and craft beers form McCambridges? It’s been great to see such a positive response so far here in Galway, and they’re planning to expand to Dublin, the North and eventually as near to nationwide as possible.

Building local food hubs with local produce reduces the amount of transport time and handling ensuring the food you receive is fresh. Less transport reduces unnecessary carbon and other emissions to the environment. Larder 360 connects quality conscious consumers to a community of local producers and the products we all know and trust.
Definitely one to try!

Unit 16 Westlink Commercial Park, Oranmore, Galway, H91 D951. www.larder360.com Tel: 091 792899 Email: info@larder360.com
 

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Anne Marie Carroll is a freelance food writer and member of the Irish Food Writers’ Guild who lives in Galway with her husband and two children. 

With a background in design and illustration, Anne Marie made the switch to journalism with a regular food and wine column in The Galway Advertiser. Her work now mainly focuses on restaurant reviews, writing and editing recipes, the development of food photo shoots, including styling and photography. She also writes for a number of other publications and works as a consultant for small producers, food retailers and restaurants.

Anne Marie writes about all things food from the West of Ireland at her blog, Warm & Snug & Fat. You can also find her on twitter as @Biscuits4ABear