By Dan DeLuca
Allentown residents Dan and Lauren DeLuca, have launced a new website GrownSmall to help smaller farmers find local customers. They have created a unique system to facilitate face to face local sales. GrownSmall offers farmers, gardeners and other crafters of artisanal ‘farm made’ goods an online store to showcase their products, track inventory, and take orders. At the heart of the Grown Small system are cooperatives. Cooperatives allow smaller growers to band together to increase the variety of their offerings, improve marketing visibility and simplify the distribution of products.
Dan explains why he started GrownSmall,
A few years ago my wife and I started a Kickstarter campaign to bring fresh, local produce to the depressed main street of our hometown. This was a little out of our comfort zone as I was a full time public school teacher, and my wife a therapist but we made it work. I can’t say we started a revolution, but we made some friends, ate well and learned the business. We learned that there were a lot of talented growers out there who wanted to sell their amazing produce but did not know how to start. By the time they found a farmer’s market that was not already saturated and then competed with the bulk sellers, they had no time to do what they really loved- grow food.
To find out more information or to sign up your farm please visit grownsmall.com or contact Dan DeLuca at 732-977-4326

