West Michigan Co-Op Launch Farmlink To Connect Farmers With Commercial Kitchens

About five years ago, Jerry Adams and his business partner created the West Michigan Co-op, an online farmers market of sorts where producers post what is available and consumers place their orders. They meet at a central location once a month to make the trade.

That successful nonprofit venture now serves more than 300 families who buy from about forty different West Michigan producers.

“We went around and found local farmers, small and mid-sized, that don't create enough product to sell to the big distributors, but were selling the kind of things we want to eat,” said Adams, who launched the effort with Paul Deleeuw.

Now the two men are trying to replicate the model in a for-profit operation called FarmLink that aims to serve commercial kitchens like restaurants or hospitals. The website goes live on Friday.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Grand Rapids Press