Ever wish you could have your local farmers’ market packed into a box made just for you? Well, that’s essentially what LINC Food’s farm-to-table subscription boxes accomplish: they provide seasonal, fresh produce all year round sourced from farms within two hours of Spokane.
By creating a local food system, LINC connects people with fresher, healthier foods, drives community connections, and strengthens our local economy. What began as a way to connect farmers to wholesale customers (i.e. local restaurants) quickly expanded into a box subscription so individuals could take advantage of the program.
“We’ve been so impressed by the extent of people who want to buy locally, even in the winter. Eating with the seasons can be challenging,” says Michelle Youngblom, manager and marketing director of LINC foods. You may find less-common produce in your winter boxes, like parsnips, but LINC provides recipe suggestions with each shipment to give you ideas on how to use your food.
Great produce aside, LINC actively reduces carbon emissions by lowering food miles. They reuse cardboard boxes and use biodegradable packaging liners for their shipments. By connecting local farmers with a steady stream of customers through shoulder season, when farmers’ markets go away, they make it sustainable for small farmers to continue their best practices. The vision is to create a vibrant and more sustainable food system in the Inland Northwest, where getting in tune with your seasonal veggies and farmers connects you to the place.
“When folks know the story behind the incredible-tasting peach or tomato they’re biting into, they’re able to feel connected to and hold appreciation for the farmers and the land where it grew,” says Youngblom. “Maybe it will inspire them to meet their farmer at the farmers’ market, visit a local farm, or get involved in land preservation projects.”
LINC also works to make local foods more affordable for low-income families. They’ve partnered with the Spokane-based Food is For All program; Produce Rx, where doctors are able to prescribe produce boxes for people with nutrition-related health issues; and the We Feed Washington Program, which provides local food to 15 emergency food partners in our region, serving about 3,200 households monthly.
If a produce subscription isn’t right for you, you can visit LINC’s website to place a one-time order of seasonal veggies from the LINC market. You can also order a ranch box, with local meats, a wine box, or include add-ons to any box in the form of microgreens, bread, mushrooms, fruit, flowers, eggs and more. LINC delivers within 10 miles of downtown Spokane, with pickup locations included in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Coeur d’Alene and Cheney.
“We’ve loved being able to hear from our customers that opening their LINC Box is the highlight of their week,” says Youngblom. To cut back on trips to the grocery store, enjoy seasonal produce, and support your local farmer, sign up for your box at Lincfoods.com.
