Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council

After eight years, Marnie Feeleus has finally connected all the links in her value chain.

“I didn’t know what a value chain was but it turns out I was trying to run my business on that model,” says the owner of Fresh Option Organic Delivery in Winnipeg.

With assistance from the Value Chain Manitoba Initiative (VCMI), Feeleus has joined forces with four local vegetable producers, as well as Vita Health Fresh Markets and Diversity Foods, the institutional buyer at the University of Winnipeg, to form the Local Sustainable Produce Value Chain.

“The goal is to provide an improved product that is more sought after by the consumer and in doing so be able to create efficiencies along the chain so we can do it more cost effectively,” she says.

A value chain is a partnership between producers, processors, distributors and retailers that is undertaken to generate a greater profit. The Value Chain Manitoba Initiative is a collaboration initiated by the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council (MRAC) and supported by Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) to encourage and assist Manitoba’s agri-food industry to respond to the marketplace.

VCMI helped lend credibility to what Feeleus had already been trying to establish.

“It also gave me the language to better communicate it to the potential partners, and a little more structure and case models,” she says.

The local sustainable produce project will measure how much efficiency can be gained by sharing the retailer’s sales data for product and volumes with the distributor and growers to effectively match supply with demand. This will hopefully lead to a decreased reliance on imported organic produce and other niche crops.

Feeleus says it was a challenge to find the right partners for the value chain.

“Luckily we had a history with some of the farms so I was able to pick the ones I thought would be the most value chain minded,” she says, noting her role in the project is to facilitate communication and product flow. This work is helping Vita Health address a challenge it’s facing.

“People are looking for local products but it’s difficult for us to deal with all the individual local producers so to have one person like Marnie who’s already dealing with all those producers is a huge benefit to us,” says Mat Holtmann, corporate grocery manager for Vita Health Fresh Markets.

Vita Health, a family owned and operated business for more than 70 years, has seven locations in Winnipeg. Vita Health has been sourcing local produce for approximately 10 years and Holtmann says the demand continues to grow every year.

“There’s more awareness out there about making healthy choices and the environmental impact,” he says, noting through the value chain he’s better able to bring his customers consistent, local products.

Among these local products are lettuce and herbs grown by vegetable producer Pat Wohlgemuth, owner of Neva Hydroponic Farms near Landmark, Man. Wohlgemuth’s produce, which he grows year round in a greenhouse, cannot be certified organic as he uses fertilizer to feed the plants, but no pesticides or chemicals are used.

Wohlgemuth knew little about the value chain model before Feeleus approached him about becoming involved. It seemed like a good fit for his farm.

“We want to build our business and work with others to share some of the marketing load,” he says, noting there will have to be some “give and take” among the partners, but he’s hoping there will be increased profitability in the long term.

Feeleus is also looking ahead. She’s hoping the value chain will be a strong base to build on in the coming years.

“Next year we will have worked out some of the kinks and know that we’re all increasing profitability by increasing our sales volumes,” she says. “And I’m hoping we’ll have a more consistent and reliable supply so that the purchasers will feel confident having these products on their order list.”

If you have an idea for a value chain project, please contact a VCMI team member as soon as possible as this is the final year of VCMI funding. The program will end on March 31, 2011. For more information on VCMI visit www.valuechainmb.ca.

~ Teresa Falk, MRAC Communications Officer

Photo: Pat Wohlgemuth, owner of Neva Hydroponic Farms; Mat Holtmann, corporate grocery manager for Vita Health Fresh Markets; and Marnie Feeleus, owner of Fresh Option Organic Delivery, stand beside locally grown lettuce for sale in the Vita Health Fresh Market in Osbourne Village, Winnipeg. Photo by Teresa Falk.