OREM — When Wills Jolley moved his family back to Utah from Arizona, he was so excited for his family to be exposed to farm-fresh food! He found out that it wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be. So, he created an easy way for his family and others to find fresh fruit and produce close to their homes.
Jolley grew up in Vernal Utah, where he personally knew several farmers who would sell or share their farm-fresh food. They had gardens and always knew how to get fresh, local produce. That’s why he was so disappointed when he realized he had no way to find fresh local produce.
“I would spend 2-3 hours and only find three farmers, and I thought there has to be an easier way to find farmers, to find food, local food. And so that is when Bailey and I started our journey of trying to figure out how to make it easy for farmers to connect with local customers,” said Wills Jolley.
The family first started by creating a website and blog where they could spread the word. But they found it to be too complicated and time consuming for farmers already working long hours to constantly update their offerings on the website. This idea didn’t seem to click, and this is how the My Farmer app came to be!
The Jolleys aren’t making any money with their app idea so far. They are still focused on just getting it off the ground in Utah. They said that most of their success has come from just showing up at farmers markets and getting farmers to sign up on the spot.
Farmers love it because they are able to find their customers better, where they are located, and where to set up stands. It makes it so much easier for both customers and farmers to find local food.
The app is very customizable. You can put in your preferences, your location, and the produce you are looking for. The app will then filter through and put all the farmers on a list. The list will show the farmer what they have to offer, the price, and you can even click on the button to reserve your spot!
“We want to show customers that local food is so accessible and so easy to get to, and it’s literally just right in your neighborhood,” said Bailey Jolley.
The My Farmer app is free to download for both iOS and Android in the respective app stores.
