wholesale
Our wholesale operation enables small and medium institutions (like food pantries) to purchase local produce in bulk. Oftentimes our wholesale clients purchase from us to stock their free-choice pantries or pack bags for home or school delivery.
Why does CFS do wholesale?
The most requested foods across all cultural groups receiving food assistance is fruits and vegetables. Yet food assistance providers (FAPs) faced challenges in accessing these items from local farms due to lack of aggregation and cold storage capacity.
Additionally, it’s a high administrative burden for FAPs to coordinate logistics with several small farms. It can be very tricky to align farm and FAP schedules, taking into account harvest needs, FAP volunteer availability for pickup or receiving delivery, and FAP distribution needs.
How our wholesale program works:
- CFS sources a very broad range of produce from over 20 local small scale producers. See our Seasonal Availability and Price Guide 2026.
- Every Monday after CFS receives product availability information from our farm partners over the weekend, we send out a weekly newsletter about Weekly Produce Availability. Each wholesale client has a shared spreadsheet to view product availability and place their orders.
- CFS then places orders with the farms, who drop off produce on Monday or Tuesday at our aggregation hub.
- CFS volunteers prepare the order and coordinate with the wholesale client on same-week delivery logistics and invoicing.
- We emphasize a service that is “right-sized” for FAPs, as we offer culturally relevant produce in appropriate volumes for their needs, in addition to providing individualized services for procurement, cold storage, and pick-up/delivery needs.
Impact:
- By managing procurement, aggregation, and cold storage on behalf of our customers (FAPs) and suppliers (farms) and making it as easy as possible for both parties, our wholesale program provides even greater community access to locally grown produce: deepening community support of local farms, respecting the cultural needs and preferences of the communities we serve, and positively impacting health, climate, and economic outcomes.
- Since launching wholesale operations in 2024, we have sold over 45,500 lbs of produce to 10+ wholesale customers, providing FAPs with a reliable, high-quality, logistically straightforward source of locally grown fresh produce.!
- Additionally, our wholesale work provides yet another strong sales channel for our farmers to ensure their financial viability and sustainability.
- Helping FAPs easily purchase local produce strengthens a resilient local food system in more ways than one. When we talk with new FAPs about our wholesale program, we discuss the true cost of food and point out that when they buy from local farms, they’re not just sourcing high quality, nutrient-dense produce; they’re also supporting a number of social, economic, and environmental benefits that positively impact the community.
- The Montgomery County Office of Food Systems Resilience (OFSR) encourages using grant funding to purchase local produce. CFS provides a valuable role in facilitating the link between small-scale local farmers with small-scale local FAPs receiving OFSR funding.
