Community Connection
Agricole: Cultivating the Local Economy and Community
In Chelsea and Beyond
Agricole is a pretty phenomenal place. In little more than three years since it launched, it has returned $2,793,111.93 (and counting) directly to the farmers and artisans that make up the Agricole family of local producers through sale of their products at its downtown Chelsea site. It has achieved this through a win-together approach with its producers and a commitment to cultivate a distinctive customer and team-centered environment.
Agricole offers local food, delights from a fabulous coffee bar and an array of hand-crafted artisan gifts for sale at its location. It is designed “to offer producers a robust outlet for their goods and better profit margins than traditional markets. The producers set their own prices and receive 75% of the price they set.”
This win-together approach has gained the trust and appreciation of the producers and the loyalty of customers.
We had a chance to speak with Shana Weddington, one of the managers at Agricole, to learn more about what goes on here.
RHF: Shana, there’s so much that’s buzzing here. How would you describe it?
Shana: Sustainably fun and busy! We represent over 150 producers seasonally, including vegetable farmers, meat and dairy farmers, cheese makers, wild mushroom foragers. Plus, we offer a wide variety of other locally produced goods like prepared foods, baked goods, canned goods, coffee, tea, honey, and maple syrup. The cafe features locally produced coffee, milk, sweeteners, and pastries. All this takes place in a community-centered space where people from near and far can gather, work, shop and just relax.
RHF: How do you help people who are just starting to launch a food or artisan business?
Shana: It’s hard to get a food business off the ground what with the cost of ingredients and packaging costs. We’re trying to make it as accessible as we can. It’s really important to us—we support the big scale farmers who are local. But also, provide a basket or two to the retirement farmer or the hobby farmer. A couple of our staff members are crafts people—they make paper books and hand knit cloths. We help them and others who are just getting started. That helps us provide a diverse offering to our customers.
For producers who are not part of our Agricole family, we offer both indoor and outdoor table opportunities, weather permitting. Folks who do cottage food or want to see if a product will work. They can run their own sales at $10/hour. We also have a commercial kitchen that’s perfect for the right client.
RHF: What would you attribute your success to?
Shana: We stay really focused on making certain our business stays sustainable. The first part is a positive work culture. The culture has a lot to do with our success. We want an inviting abundant-looking space—a beautiful environment to be in.
Then, the customer and farmers experience is key—we appreciate them. We take the time to be with customers. We’re not trying to rush them through. We let them know, “If you don’t see something in the store ask us. We can do special orders and small to large size food sourcing. It won’t take long to get it from the farmer down the road.”
We prioritize the connection with the producers, the community, each other. We offer each producer a free drink when they drop off their product no matter the size of the delivery just to let them know they are appreciated. As a team we have warm-ups and cool downs, so everyone feels they are in the know.
We give that time and that space to each person. It makes a world of difference. When you walk in the space you feel like you belong here, or you want to belong here.
We see that customers are excited with the mission. People feel good about spending their money when they know where it goes. Feel like they have a greater sense of impact, that they’re doing good in the world.
RHF: In the last few years there’s been a challenge with supply chain. How has that affected you?
Shana: Food chain, supply chain has not been an issue for us at a local level. I know that if people go to a large grocery store and they see empty shelves, they get an unsettled feeling.
We have no problem getting eggs, bread, vegetables, quality meats. We can get these essentials and get them easily because of our local producers. And people start to realize that when they shop local, they aren’t going to experience supply chain issues.
An extension of this is something I’d like to get out to the community. It’s a service we offer that I don’t think many know about—we offer full service special orders. We’ve helped people pull off their small event—things like author parties, birthday parties, announcements, family or club events. We help people get in touch with caterers and farmers to pre-order baked goods or fruit trays or veggies trays.
We had an author come in who was going to host an author event. She saw flowers on display and said, “I love your flowers, can you connect me with a florist.” We did and she was able to secure locally sourced dried flowers for her event. We were that community connecting point for her.
RHF: Are your customers mostly from Chelsea?
Shana: We see people from all over. People come to go to Smokehouse 52 BBQ, take a tour of Jiffy Mix, go on the B2B trail, or visit Robin Hills Farm--that brings out people. Plus, we are a thriving downtown that’s attractive for shopping.
A couple from Dearborn—they found us, and they came out every weekend. And they ended up deciding “we want to move here and be part of the community.” They really are starting to become local and integrating themselves!
But we love our Chelsea folks—the old timers and the newcomers. We couldn’t do what we do without their support. We really try to make our space inviting to both locals and visitors. Service both.
RHF: Is there a way that you see that Robin Hills Farm can contribute?
Shana: Part of the work that needs to be done in a community like this where it is an urban setting but has a lot of agricultural land and natural resource land around it is to make nature feel more accessible. That’s what Robin Hills Farm does. It offers a beautiful outdoor setting and paths, but also very pretty venues—a nice blending of both worlds. It’s a setting where people can feel comfortable in nature and feel free to explore it.
It also offers education—that’s something we’re committed to as well. To help kids learn where food comes from and get outside.
We want to work against what’s called “The Green Wall.” It’s the idea that we are separate from nature. In urban areas there can be a lot of hesitancy to engage with nature or even fear to go out into the woods, explore in a meadow. You know there are things that could sting you or bugs.
But there’s a lot of research out there that documents that being out in nature improves serotonin levels, sleep quality and quantity, and confidence just by being able to navigate an outdoor setting.
Education and feeling invited into a space are important for cultivating a sense of belonging to nature and your community.That’s what we try to do for our producers and customers. And that’s what I feel Robin Hills Farm does as well. It helps people feel they belong—in the natural environment and in this community.