Sea Islands Local Outlet - SILO

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What is SILO?

SILO is the Sea Islands Local Outlet. Our mission is to provide locally sourced food to Beaufortonians and educate them about where and how the food they eat is produced. Just as a silo in agriculture is used to store large amounts of feed or grain until it is ready to be distributed, Beaufort’s SILO is a place where a large variety of local food will be brought, stored and distributed to local residents. In essence, it is a local grocer with two shopping methods: the online farmers market and the shopfront. SILO will operate a physical market out of a retail shopfront in the Habersham Marketplace. For online orders, customers will pick up their order at the shopfront on Market Day. On other days when the shop is open, customers can come in and pick up many of their groceries from local sources. These are not gourmet/tourist-oriented products. The goal is to market to local Beaufortonians who enjoy eating locally-sourced foods. Meat, eggs, milk, cheese, breads, desserts are examples of products that are offered. SILO's reach extends beyond just a marketplace. The SILO shopfront will also host lectures, movies, food tastings, farm tours and more, all geared towards locally sourced food.

What is the SILO online market?

The concept is an online farmers market. Each week, the growers/producers log on to the website and update the type and quantity of products they estimate to be able to produce/pick that week. They also adjust their prices if needed. Then the market “opens” online and customers log in to begin shopping. The market remains open for 3 days and then closes. The growers/producers receive their orders that day and then spend the next day and a half picking/preparing/packaging their ordered items to bring to the SILO shopfront on Market Day. Items are organized, packaged and displayed at SILO before customers begin arriving for pick-up. Customers pay for their order upon pick-up with credit card, check or cash. Before payment is issued orders may be updated with any changes that may have been made since the order was placed (i.e., sudden freeze wipes out the eggplants before they were harvested). The customer leaves with a bag full of locally-sourced products purchased directly from the growers!