Door to Door makes loan to organic farmer
Doug Storum
LOUISVILLE - Door to Door Organics Inc. has created a loan program to help local farmers with cash flow during the spring.

Door to Door's has loaned $50,000 to Dave Asbury, owner of Circle Farms in Longmont, who will repay the loan in vegetables when crops are ready for harvest.

Louisville-based Door to Door Organics takes orders online for organic produce and delivers them to homes. The company has operations in nine states, including Colorado.

Small farms can receive financial help from federal, state and local agencies, and nongovernmental organizations, but it is very limited, according to Chad Arnold, president and chief executive of Door to Door Organics.

The loan program helps farmers with cash flow during the spring, when farmers need to purchase seeds, starters and equipment all at once, and don't have much ready to sell. The partnership is likely to become a model for the other Door to Door Organics locations.

"Organic and local produce is at the heart of our business, and has led us to more than 800 percent growth in four years," Arnold said. "By working directly with our local farms we bring the customer and their farmer closer together, which will help promote and sustain the viability of local organic agriculture."

At the peak of the Colorado growing season, up to 60 percent of Door to Door Organics' produce is sourced from local farmers. From late June through October, Door to Door Organics also offers a Local Farm Box, containing only Colorado-grown produce.

Last year, Door to Door Organics offered produce from more than 15 local farms including Full Circle Farms, First Fruits and Ela Family Farms in Hotchkiss, Grant Family Farms in Wellington, Fossil Creek Farms in Fort Collins, and Isabelle Farms in Lafayette.