Hello from Washington State!

Hello to all local food supporters!
My name is Teresa Skye, and I live in Winthrop ,WA. I am a lover of local food and support local products whenever I can. I am a biased lover of Eat Local Food as a company because Joan, the owner, is my sister, and that obviously makes Chris, the fabulous artist, my sister as well. I've been working as a Northwest rep for Eat Local Food for several months now. Getting to know the farmers and small orchardists in the area has been an enriching experience. They are all such hardworking, dedicated folks who are trying to preserve an important institution-the smaller American farm. I hope to blog once in awhile here to let the rest of the country know what's happening in my corner of the country with local marketing ideas.
Recently I attended a conference called "Farm to Table" sponsored by Washington State University. It was intended to get together local growers with restaurants and markets that might use their produce. One presenter talked about the Okanogan Producers Marketing Association (OPMA), which is a group of 6 small farms who got together as a cooperative to market their produce on the "other side" (here in Washington that's across the mountains, to the bigger markets on the western side of the state). They are able to share one ordering phone call, one truck, one invoice, and one check. They might have a truck full of everyone's produce and fruit go to the west once a week, delivering to now established clients. The concept tripled their sales in the second year, and they're developing new business daily. This is an example of allowing small growers deliver fresh produce in a feasible way.
Gotta go-my tomatoes need watering!