Backed by $4,000 in Donations, Amy's Organics to Return for Second Year

Amy's Organics will be back on the road this summer thanks to the kindness of nearly 100 people who to ensure the fledgling mobile business would continue.

The money will allow owner Amy Ernst to add two more coolers to her van so that, in addition to organic vegetables, fruits, honey and fruit popsicles, she'll be able to sell fresh, locally produced eggs and grass-fed meats when she drives through Plainfield neighborhoods.

Ernst's financial problems came not during the summer and fall months, when she easily made enough sales to cover her expenses, but in the winter, when sales dropped off, Ernst said. Without the infusion of cash, she wasn't sure she'd be able to return for a second year, she said.

"I was doing really well until January," Ernst said. "That's when things got really slow. ... I just couldn't keep going through the winter."

She knew she had to get creative if she was going to survive. Enter kickstarter.com.

The Web site is dedicated to helping people launch or sustain creative projects by giving them the mechanism through which to solicit donations. A fundraising goal is set, and donors are charged only if the dollar amount is reached.

"I thought I'd try it," Ernst said. "That 90 percent of the donations came from customers is so encouraging."

Depending on the amount donated, each contributor will receive a "premium." A $20 donation, for example, will be rewarded with a pound of honey in July and $10 in vegetables in August.

A handful of donations—including one from France—came from people who don't live in the area but just liked the concept, Ernst said.

Ernst launched last summer, inspired to find a way to bring healthier foods to Plainfield residents after she successfully overcame a battle with cancer. She was convinced, she said, that her illness partially stemmed from eating processed foods and fruits and vegetables doused with pesticides and chemical-laden fertilizers.

Her concept: Make it easy for people to buy organic by bringing it to where they live.

Employing a system similar to an ice cream truck—complete with music—she'd drive her van through neighborhoods selling her wares. She used her Web site to let people know when and where she'd be every day and she established some standing locations so people could find her.

The concept was immediately embraced, and Ernst has been asked to make weekly stops this summer at Plainfield Village Hall and C.W. Avery YMCA as well as Karma Skin + Massage Studio in Yorkville and Kindred Spirits Intuitive Arts Center in Oswego, she said.

Over the winter, she started delivering items—including organic meat, poultry and fish, preserves, sauces and soap—directly to homes in Plainfield, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Romeoville and elsewhere for a $5 delivery fee (orders over $50 are delivered for free).

Customers receive a weekly email on Mondays with the list of items available and have until Tuesday to place their orders, Ernst said. If they're not home, they leave a cooler on their porch and a check for their purchases inside, she said.

She's been able to sell fresh lettuce, spinach and kale all winter by purchasing from a local farmer who uses a greenhouse to grow produce through the winter, she said. And this summer she'll add eggs to the menu thanks to a Plainfield woman who has purchased 125 hens and started her own business, Ernst said.

"The first (year), all of the money (to launch the business) came out of my pocket," Ernst said. "I think this year will be better."

If you want Amy's Organics to come through your neighborhood this summer, contact Amy Ernst at 815-483-8627 or amy@amysorganics.org. Her Web site is www.amysorganics.org.