Local First Friday: From The Farmer

From The Farmer delivers fresh produce to customer doorsteps in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. Customers can customize the size and contents – including various vegetables and fruits, bread, and eggs – of their baskets and determine their own delivery schedules, with no weekly commitment required.

After beginning a student organization that fed hundreds of local community members during their time at the University of Denver, co-founders Nick Phelps and Jason Lundberg started From The Farmer in 2010, according to Stacey Price, the company’s director of sales and marketing. The company now delivers to more than 2,000 houses per week, most of which are regular customers, said Price.

“Our office is filled with expertise ranging from farming, cooking, nutrition, and food policy,” Price wrote in an email. “We get to work with the most interesting partners and producers and customers. The common thread in our story is a love of food.”

From The Farmer buys produce from more than 100 different local farms and producers, according to Price. The business chooses partners that have a transparent cultivating process, practice sustainability, and have quality products and healthy practices. 

Tyler Baer, the head of sourcing and storytelling, said the most challenging part of From The Farmer was the quick pace and constant changes.

“Food moves fast and it never sleeps,” said Baer. “Each year (growing season) is different and the best you can do is prepare accordingly and hold on for the ride.”

Price said the business was always built with the intention to be able to recreate the model in other cities, but the team still has more work to do in the Washington, DC-area. 

In late April, From The Farmer will launch technology to provide more options to customers, including sustainable meat and dairy and pantry items, according to Price.

About the Author 

Seema Vithlani is a junior multi-platform journalism major and French minor at the University of Maryland. This spring she is also an editorial intern for Washington Gardener Magazine.

"Local First Friday" is a weekly blog series profiling independent garden businesses in the greater Washington, DC, and Mid-Atlantic region. Washington Gardener Magazine believes strongly in supporting and sourcing from local businesses first!