“My grocery shopping was a bit different today, because I pre-ordered all the goods I needed online. In fact, I ordered them on Facebook. I will be picking them up Thursday night. Pretty convenient, isn’t it?” (Quote from Vilja’s blog [In Finnish]: http://ruoka.ts.fi/makuseutu/reko-lahiruokaa-facebookin-kautta/)

Now that spring is getting nearer and nearer, we have felt really energetic and launched a REKO chain, which increases the availability of local products. You can find the group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1565234677134163/. The group is a meeting place for the local food producers and consumers in the Joensuu and Kitee area. Most of the producers are from North Karelia, but a few of them operate in North Savonia. In practice, this means that the local producers promote their goods in a closed Facebook group. The products can be pre-ordered to be delivered on a specific date. The customer orders the amount of goods s/he wants and agrees to pick them up from a predetermined location. This way, the trade between the producers and the consumers is direct and there are no intermediaries involved. The dialogue between the producers and consumers remains as clear and as open as possible. Additionally, each of the producers has agreed upon transparent operation, so that any customer willing to familiarize him/herself with the production may do so. The REKO principle we subscribe to is that our customers receive fresh, affordable and clean food and they can be sure where it has been produced. Additionally, in this way we can support the Finnish food industry and local food producers.

As an administrator of the group, I have been pleasantly surprised by how much activity there has been in the REKO group. Both the consumers and the producers have been satisfied and the group has received a lot of positive feedback – thank you so much! Reading such feedback has been heart-warming. Now, a few months after the REKO group was launched we have more than 1,500 members as well as over a dozen producers. There have been enough customers and producers for each delivery. Our group’s supply doesn’t quite yet meet all the demand: For example, there’s still a lack of certain vegetables, game, fish and ethically produced pork. On that note, we wish to welcome all producers that can operate in accordance with the REKO principles and the rules of the group to join our local foods chain.