COLUMBIA, MD — Market Wagon today announced the launch of its online farmers market and delivery service to Baltimore, D.C. and the surrounding area. Consumers now have more ways to order from their favorite local farms and artisanal food vendors, all without leaving home. Market Wagon LLC, a startup company, is focused on helping farmers get their products to local customers in a sustainable way. Market Wagon is accepting home delivery orders now in a region spanning eight counties.
Delivery area includes Baltimore City, the District of Columbia as well as Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties.
Dubbed an “online farmers market,” the service allows customers to browse locally grown products on their computer or smartphone throughout the week and place an order from multiple local vendors with one single checkout. Orders are delivered each Tuesday afternoon in insulated totes using ice packs as needed to preserve freshness. Area residents can enjoy local shopping not only during harvest season but all year long after most physical farmers markets have closed for the season.
Market Wagon’s mission is to enable food producers to thrive in their local and regional markets. By providing exceptional choice and service, people can know exactly where their food comes from. The online store contains everything you’d expect to find at a physical farmers market – local farm-fresh eggs, dairy, meat, produce, baked goods, and more.
Market Wagon co-founder and CEO Nick Carter was born and raised on a small family farm. He’s passionate about the company’s mission and truly helping an industry where 85 cents of every food dollar traditionally spent by consumers goes somewhere other than farmers and ranchers.
“This business is all about giving consumers more ways and easier access to buy local – and giving farmers and food producers more ways to reach them,” Carter said. “By bringing the same products you’d expect at a local farmers market into an online shop, we are increasing the market for local farms and artisans, and ultimately it’s those vendors that win.”
One of those vendors is Christy Ottinger who grows fresh produce like tomatoes and squash and has pasture-raised chickens to sell fresh eggs at Kitchen Girl Farm in Baltimore County.
“We are excited that Market Wagon will help us get our food onto the plates of more local families,” Ottinger said. “As farmers, we love supplying the kitchens of people who enjoy exploring the flavors of their region.”
More than 240 local products are available to choose from in the market, with more vendors loading new products every day.
Shopping requires no upfront fees or long-term subscriptions. Food is delivered in reusable, insulated cloth bags along with ice packs which can be reused over and over again. Interested food producers can apply to become a vendor on the company’s website, MarketWagon.com.
Vendors include:
A Friendly Bread (Baltimore) – Lane Levine started baking bread more than a decade ago when his favorite spot for challah was closed the day he needed it. He now works out of B-More Kitchen to deliver delicious bread like a neighborhood milkman. He sells sourdough bread as well as sourdough toasts (think fancy crackers) with flavors like pecan cranberry and olive oil & sea salt.
GreenIsland Bakery (Washington, D.C.) – Old Irish family recipes handed through the generations are the basis for Caroline Johnston’s GreenIsland Bakery. After living all over the world, she missed authentic Irish and European pastries so much she started GreenIsland. Caroline specializes in Irish shortbread which she offers in several different flavors.
Kitchen Girl Farm (Parkton) — After years of working on nonprofit farms, Christy Ottinger and her husband Connor are building the farm of their dreams in Parkton. They are passionate about making food that’s raised in a sustainable way available to their community. Kitchen Girl Farm sells humanely-raised eggs as well as vegetables like Bell peppers, onions and okra.
For help in arranging interviews or if you have additional questions, please contact Dan Klein at (317) 384-4822.
ABOUT MARKET WAGON:
Market Wagon transforms the farm-to-table concept into a farm-to-front-door reality. Its mission is to enable food producers to thrive in their local markets by operating as an online farmers market. Market Wagon partners with more than 2,500 local farmers and artisans to take their produce and products the very last mile to the doorstep of 45,000+ local customers. Farmer and tech entrepreneur Nick Carter teamed up with logistics expert Dan Brunner to start Market Wagon in 2016. It’s now available in more than 35 markets across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin. For more information, visit marketwagon.com, or you can follow the company’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube.
