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Eat Local: Foster The Plant Cafe

Written by Lynzie Schulte Owner of Foster the Plant Café

Foster the Plant Cafe on Market Street in Potsdam opened in December of 2019. Our aim is to bring healthy, plant-based food options to the North Country community while maintaining our mission of environmental awareness, local sourcing, and highlighting other small business owners, artisans, and associations. We love to teach the community what kinds of food can be made with locally farmed items and how meals can be delicious and filling even when there are no animal products used. One of the menu items that we make year-round with local ingredients is our pesto. Our pesto veggie wrap consists of housemade pesto, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, and lettuce. We love it when we can get all our veggies locally during peak harvest season, but we are able to make pesto all year long!

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Farm Branding Basics: What Do I Need to Know?

How much thought have you given to your branding? It is important to think about how your products and your business may look to consumers. Often people purchase products because of the story it tells, and the feeling it gives. 

As the owner and producer of a business and products, you want the ability and control of telling your story at all levels. ATTRA | Sustainable Agriculture published a recent article on “Farm Branding: Selling Your Products Through Story”. You can read the full article HERE. Below are 7 great takeaways from the article, consider digging in this season on some of these tips to connect more with your customers!

  • Make Meaning. What makes your product different from competitors? Share this meaning with your customers by stating these things out loud and in your marketing materials. 

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Meet the Local Foods Team: Lauren Olson

Tell us about your role on the local foods team. 

My role is working with food producers and food entrepreneurs to help with their marketing strategies. I started this position in April of 2021 and I am interested in learning what services I can offer to farmers and food producers that would be of most use to their business. Currently, I am working on educational materials that would be helpful to producers as they’re scaling up their business. In addition I promote consumer education surrounding local foods to help spread awareness of the delicious bounty we have here.

So you could meet one-on-one with a producer that’s trying to change something about their business, for example.  

Yes, I help educate farmers and food entrepreneurs about marketing tools. It could be anything from discussing E-commerce options for online stores, advising on websites and social media accounts, giving input on logos or accessing new markets.

I think the reason I like marketing is because it is about supporting your local network of consumers and producers and a lot of good can happen from that. Especially when it comes to food since we all need to eat and it’s a great way to invest in your community.

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