Athens.LocallyGrown.net

Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

First off, thanks for all the feedback I’ve received on the question of allowing “edge case” growers into the market. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, I invite you to go back and read last week’s letter, available on the website here.

This last week, I put a ton of changes into the software that runs the market, the biggest batch of improvements I’ve made in years, maybe. You can now pay for your orders right on the checkout page! This allows you to use your credit or debit cards right then, and skip the payment line completely on Thursday without needing to stock up your account with $100 or more.

We take all Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, and Diners Club cards. I’ve gone to great lengths to make it as convenient as possible for you. You only have to put in your card details once, on a secure page, and from then all we can charge your orders to that card whenever you wish. You can add your card to your account on the Your Account page, or when you check out your order. The details are stored with our payment processor (Stripe.com, a company that is changing the nature of online payments), so you can be sure your card is safe and secure.

We’ll only change your card after you pick everything up. This allows us to easily add extra items to your order if you pick up anything off the “extras” pile, or to deduct items that you didn’t receive for whatever reason. If you place more than one order, we’ll combine them all into the same charge. ATHENSLOCALLYGROWN will appear on your card statement, along with my phone number, so you’ll know exactly who charged you and why. You’ll also receive an email when the payment is processed, telling you exactly how much was charged.

All this security and card processing does cost me, of course, so if you do take advantage of this convenience, an additional 3% convenience charge will be added to your order. Compared to something like Ticketmaster, you’ll find that to be but a pittance and, unlike them, we’re giving you real convenience.

If you do prefer paying in larger chunks and drawing down over time (say, you want to take advantage of a “triple bonus miles” promotion on your card or something), you’ll find that same convenience. Once you’ve got a card linked, you’ll see a blank on the Your Account page where you can enter a dollar amount and go. That amount will instantly be credited to your Athens Locally Grown account, and your orders will drawn down from there. Easy peasy!

And if you want to change cards, you can at any time. You can decide to pay when you pick up instead (just like you do now), you can do that, even if you’ve tied a card to your account. You’ll have that option at check out. If you place multiple orders, the payment method for the last order will apply to all of them. So, you can put one on your card, place a second order and decide then to go ahead and pay for both of them when you pick up.

And finally, we’re not taking away any of the payment options you already have. You can pay with cash, check, credit/debit, or EBT when you pick up your orders.

In the near future, I’ll be adding an additional payment option, one that lets you hook up a bank account and pay with the same ease you can from a credit/debit card. Some people don’t want to do any business at all with the credit card companies for many valid reasons, and if you’re one of them, I want to give you the same conveniences anyway. So, keep an eye out for that.

Now, on to the food!

Thanks so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market has closed for the winter. You can watch for news during the offseason on their website. The other area markets are also all closed for the season too. All but Athens Locally Grown, that is.

Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!