Photo by Shelbie Pletz
Switchback Pizza's Blue Moon
Switchback Pizza's Blue Moon made with roasted local portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions and Gorgonzola cheese.
Having farmed for roughly 20 years, Nicole and Steve Shelly know the impact that local farming has. They decided to trade in their farming life for a new endeavor with Local Food Market LV. Nicole noticed that farmers are not the most social media adept, so she wanted to help them market their products and reach bigger audiences.
“They just want to farm,” says Nicole, stressing the importance of getting more awareness for farmers out there. Local customers can order directly online, choosing from a variety of items from surrounding farms and restaurants. These goods include pre-made meals that feature the produce of the season from area favorites like Switchback Pizza and Rodale Institute Experimental Farm. Patrons can shop the site year-round, and they don’t have to worry about rain or cold weather getting in the way—the way one might with a typical outdoor farmers’ market. Nicole shares that research conducted by Buy Fresh Buy Local shows that only 2 percent of the population shops at local farmers’ markets. The Shellys’s mission is to change that number to 20 percent by 2020.
