Overstock Farmers Market Joins the Marketplace

Overstock.com announces the launch of the Ocerstock Farmers Market, a section within the Overstock website. This market of hand-picked products offer customers throughout the U.S. access to home delivery of seasonal, healthy food, grown and produced in their area. "We're integrating small farms, community-supported agriculture (CSA) and co-ops into our technology so as to allow consumers in their area to buy and arrange delivery through Overstock," says Patrick M. Byrne, CEO for Overstock. "We want to streamline the farm-to-table process to provide everyone access to healthy food, delivered to their doorstep." According to Byrne, Overstock is currently able to serve about 20% of the U.S. population with farm-fresh food grown near their ZIP code, and it intends to provide local delivery access of fresh, locally grown food to 70% of the U.S. population by the end of 2014. Each product featured in the Farmers Market is accompanied by a biography of the farmer or specialty food purveyor who grew it, along with a look into their production processes, in order to give customers a better idea of the food they are purchasing. Byrne said shoppers will also find a sense of social community by providing health-focused recipes and seasonal produce guidance alongside the selection of fresh and local food products. The Farmers Market program requires no up-front costs for suppliers to join, instead using a revenue-sharing model that allows them to get their products on Overstock with minimal changes to their existing procedures. Farmers, CSAs, and co-ops interested in joining the program are encouraged to contact the Farmers Market team at [email protected] for more information. The Farmers Market is the latest initiative in Overstock's collection of sustainable businesses that provides a way to give back to communities worldwide. Other community-focused initiatives include Worldstock.com, Overstock's fair trade division selling products handmade by artisans all over the world, Main Street Revolution, which features products made in America by individuals and small businesses and the company's on-site Pet Adoption feature, which allows animal shelters across the country the chance to use Overstock's shopping site as a free service to connect consumers to adoptable pets.