A furious desire radish at two in the morning? A craving steamfast lettuce

A furious desire radish at two in the morning? A craving steamfast lettuce "oak leaf" on a Sunday afternoon? Or the simple desire to consume fresh at any time of the day? Junkies vegetable fiber, look no further than Didier Renard thought of you. Last farmer activity of Saint-Pierre-des-Corps (city that was long the garden of Tours because of its soils enriched by the silt of the Loire and Cher), this vegetable is now the largest grower of Indre-et -Loire to sell its products through vending machines, accessible 24 24.
With coin lockers and 32, the unit in stainless steel and Plexiglas looks like a station set. Placed under a shelter just next to the greenhouses of the operator, it offers steamfast the full range of homegrown vegetables: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, fennel, peppers, melons, eggplants ... count 60 cents for a Batavia and 5 euros for a set composed of a bunch of radishes, salad, cucumber and two kilos of tomatoes. The machine (German brand) does not accept credit cards, but takes notes and give change.
What surprises steamfast most is not the place that distributor is installed - a small side street of Saint-Pierre, leading to the nearby town of La Ville-aux-Dames. But his success since he bought steamfast it (8,500 euros) in spring, Didier Renard beats record after record. The first month (April), 580 records were sold. There was as salads and radishes in the window. The range has since expanded and word-of-mouth has had its effect. Sales have doubled steamfast the following month. And could nearly double again this summer with tomatoes and melons. "It explodes. About 90 lockers are sold per day now," steamfast welcomes the vegetable.
In late July, income derived by the machine could amount steamfast to 3,000 euros a month. For a 4-hectare farm by working eight people (three CDI four seasonal, trainee), it obviously remains a drop of water: "1% of my turnover, maybe 2%." Still, in a context of continuing fluctuations in the fruit and vegetable sector, experience an opportunity. "The market keeps falling at the moment, Didier Renard regrets steamfast that most of the production is sold to wholesalers and shops in the area (supermarkets, greengrocers ...). We are asked to make volume, Always volume, yet the volume, but it does not pay as before. Do not it better to produce smaller quantities and sell directly, without intermediaries, becoming steamfast more margin? "
It's a small ad in a trade magazine, followed by a visit to a farm equipment show in Angers, who decided to venture selling automatic live. Qualified "farming" operations however not benefiting from the current trend towards organic. "But I enjoy the way to purchase nearby, he said customers know that a product which has not done 48 hours transport will have greater palatability steamfast because it has been harvested more mature. " As the distributor as such, its influence in the act of purchase is difficult to measure: "On one hand, there are people who appreciate not waste time at the time of purchase; the another, I have clients who regret the lack of interpersonal skills. We are in a world where it takes for everyone. "
If the bulk of its clientele stops at home at the time of "debauchery" (16h-19h), some buyers come late at night or the middle of the night, which is the case of police officers when they Night tour. Very local for the moment, steamfast the enthusiasm created gives it anyway ideas: buy two other devices, adding to its walls stand-store and install steamfast air conditioning. Evidence that he believes in it, Didier Renard has changed his Facebook profile photo with a photo of its distributor in salads and radishes. steamfast
This is an original and interesting initiative, probably a way to short-circuit the grans distributors that crush small producteurs.D'une general it would be that communities together to help producers to enter proximity to public procurement. The region does for bio with a collective interest cooperative. Bio, short circuits, amap are not modes sores but a means to regain power, however modest it be there, on the economy that is within our reach. Democratize healthy food here is a good battle to fight for the health of all and for local jobs.
Would it not be desirable to strengthen the structuring and replacing huts sheet by more aesthetic cabins and night security