New app lets consumers buy direct from local watermen and farmers in Middle Peninsula

Image by by Aileen Devlin | Virginia Sea Grant

A new app called Bay Direct has been launched to connect consumers in the Middle Peninsula with local watermen, restauranteurs, and farmers.

“Local seafood and agricultural producers continue to be challenged by the pandemic that has affected the economics of their operations,” Lewie Lawrence, executive director of the Middle Peninsula Commission explained in a Virginia Farm Bureau Federation newsletter. “By using the app, a fisherman or farmer can post what harvest he has, a consumer can see that harvest, and they can make a connection through the app to make a sale in real life.”

“It creates a marketplace where producers receive better prices for their commodity and consumers receive fresh local products,” Elijah Griles, a Virginia Farm Bureau Federation commodity specialist, also stated in the newsletter. “Many consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from, and Bay Direct helps consumers to be able to have a relationship with the farmer. The app serves as the link from the farm to the table,” he noted.

In addition to producers listing what they have for sale, there’s a space for consumers to post items that they want to buy. And the Bay Direct website says the app includes features, such as GPS to find the nearest location with fresh seafood for sale. That way if consumers are new to the area or visiting, they can use the app to figure out where to find the goods they want.

Sellers can register for free, anbeen d the app is free to download. It’s available from the Apple and Google app stores. In addition to the marketplace features, the app also has content such as recipes and tips for handling seafood.

According to the Bay Direct website, this online marketplace was conceived by the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority and brought to life by Go Virginia funding.

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