A few questions (and answers) with Veggie Trader
We first wrote about Veggie Trader back in March in Swap What You’ve Got For What You Want. In a nutshell, Veggie Trader is an free resource for bringing good food and good people together. From their web site:
Using Veggie Trader is free and easy. It works like classified advertising. You post a listing describing the excess produce you have and what you’d like in return, and then you wait for a response…
Or, if you’re looking for local produce, you simply enter your zipcode and see what your neighbors have available. You can also post specific produce you’re looking for in our Wanted section and see which of your neighbors answers your request.
We’re so enamoured of the idea and wanted to check back in to see how things were going. HOMEGROWN intern, Zach (whom some of you met at Bonnaroo), conducted the interview with co-founder, Rob Anderson.
Q: Who draws all of the adorable veggie and fruit portraits on the site?
People really like the artwork and cartoons, so believe it or not, this might be the one question we get asked most often. My wife Tam Crawford creates all of it, and she’s also the person who came up with the original idea for Veggie Trader. Tam does a lot for the site and beyond, including helping to make sure the container garden on our deck stays properly watered and cared for.
Q: Aside from the lonely lemons, could you tell us a little bit about yourself? Did you know what you were getting yourself into when you started VT?
We certainly didn’t realize Veggie Trader would become as popular as it has so quickly. We started the site because we thought it was something we personally could do when we saw so much food that deserved to be eaten instead go to waste. Having never done anything quite like this, the experience has been…well, nuts. We’ve met all kinds of different people along the way, and have been mentioned on television, radio and even written about in the New York Times. A popular website in Japan even picked us up. Not speaking Japanese, we have no idea what they wrote, but it’s fun to think we made a bit of a splash overseas.
Q: What is one of your favorite Veggie Trader stories? Do you get emails with stories of unwanted veggies finding loving homes?
We do get the occasional e-mail from happy traders. People are excited when they find folks in their area and connect. I think our favorite story so far is from a guy in Southern California who listed the extra fruit from his yard on Veggie Trader. Within a few days he ran out of fruit and had to start a wait list!
Q: Are there any ideas on the horizon for additions to the Veggie trader site? What have you had to change about your model since first beginning? I see that regulations and licensing have been a hassle in some areas, can you tell us a bit more about how people are dealing with ‘the man’?
We’re always thinking about ways to improve the site and are investigating a number of ideas to make Veggie Trader an even better and more useful place. People have e-mailed and written us with all kinds of suggestions, and we read them all. As far as regulations and licensing, some places require permits or licenses and others don’t. Requirements vary pretty widely by state as well as by city and county.
Q: In the past couple of years, our nation’s social conscience has changed and awoken to the idea that the environment/atmosphere is important and not invincible. With that has come an outcry of positive, active people looking to help in whatever way they can. Do you see a way that these efforts can be combined and organized so that instead of many organizations overlapping, that a maximum positive result can be reached?
Wow! That’s quite a question! We think it’s important for everyone to do whatever they can to make a difference. That’s the first step. Veggie Trader is something we believed we personally could do to help so we did. We think it’s great that lots of people are out there doing things to help take us in a more sustainable direction, even if some efforts are duplicated. It beats the alternative if you think about it! And historically, it’s always the best ideas and most useful things that stick, so we think as time passes duplication will tend to be eliminated and organizations working toward sustainability will become more efficient and streamlined. People are always coming up with ideas for improving things. We think the more people working in a particular direction, the better!
Q: What’s the most ‘popular’ or busy geographic area for VT?
We’ve probably seen the most activity in Southern California, which isn’t surprising since that part of the country has one of the earliest and longest growing seasons. But we’ve also seen a lot of activity in states as diverse as Texas, Washington, and Indiana. The site has been popular in our hometown of Portland too! We notice the most activity in areas where people have learned about us via the media, so we encourage everyone who likes the site to spread the word about us.
Q: What else would you like to share with us about growing, eating, trading and more?
We’ve read that there are a bunch of first-time vegetable gardeners out there this year. If you’ve never done so but think you’d like to grow some of your own food, you should give it a try, even if you only have room for herbs. Don’t be put off. It’s easy and anyone can do it, anywhere! One of the things we like to do is walk around Portland and notice all the interesting spots where gardens are popping up. It’s amazing what people do with something as small as a 2’ x 2’ patch of dirt that gets a little sunshine. We’re somewhat novice gardeners ourselves and live in a 900 square foot apartment, but our deck is covered in stuff. We’re growing peppers, tomatoes, basil, blueberries and more. We even have a columnar apple tree specifically bred for small spaces. Growing your own food is very satisfying too. It makes eating more fun!
Thank you, Rob, and good luck with this exciting venture!
