Thanks to an innovative partnership with
Wash Cycle Laundry,
Neighborhood Foods CSA will soon begin delivering its food shares from urban farms to subscribers via bicycle.
This past year, the
Merchants Fund introduced Neighborhood Foods CSA to Wash Cycle Laundry, a wash-and-fold two-wheeled delivery service. Both businesses are new, local, independently-run and invested in creating quality jobs while advancing sustainability. Cross-promotion seemed natural, but Wash Cycle had a better idea.
"The more we thought about it, the more we thought it made sense to do delivery," says Gabe Mandujano, founder and CEO of Wash Cycle Laundry. "We've gotten really good at hauling things around town. For us, it's the first time we've hauled anything other than laundry."
Neighborhood Foods CSA, a project of
Urban Tree Connection, provides shares comprised of seven to ten varieties of produce sourced from two multi-acre farms -- 53rd and Wyalusing in West Philly and one in South Philly -- supplemented by a small Lancaster farm. Add-ons include fruit from Breezy Acres Farm and
Beechwood Orchards, bread from
Four Worlds Bakery, jam from
Green Aisle Grocery, honey from local beekeepers and coffee from
La Colombe. In their first year, Neighborhood Foods provided 68 shares over the course of 22 weeks. By offering delivery service from Wash Cycle Laundry, they expect to serve 100 customers from May through October.
"Our hope is that by offering delivery, it will make the CSA more attractive to a new type of customer," says Mandujano. "A lot of people like the idea of local food, and might even be willing to pay a little bit of a premium for it, but can't get to a pickup site every week."
At the partnership's inception, Wash Cycle Laundry obtained a $50,000 loan from Patricia Kind Family Foundation and increased their workforce from 12 to 16 employees. They expect to grow to 30 employees by the end of this year.
Source: Gabe Mandujano, Wash Cycle Laundry
Writer: Dana Henry