Being a small food producer is hard. There are physical issues, such as dealing with climate change and the changing of the seasons. Then, there are the challenges of packaging, marketing and selling your goods, which can be expensive and inefficient.
"In Pennsylvania, 4% of farmers are making an actual value-added product," said Rob Breen. "It's not really financially sustainable for small and mid-sized farms to just be in the commodity business as a producer."
Breen, a local grower and designer, had dealt with those problems himself as a small-scale farmer and food producer in Pittsburgh and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. So he came up with an idea that would remove some of the barriers for people who want to pursue agriculture or food production at a small scale: Zeromile, a dual member and worker cooperative that provides space for producers to make, pack and sell their wares.
The co-op is intended to shorten the food supply chain by giving local growers a place to make and sell products and at the same time offering members access to healthy local foods at a reduced price, according to Breen.
Read more at Pittsburgh Union Progress
