Food Coop Ordering
A local food coop, consistently largely of students and faculty, works with
local farmers to order and distribute food items. Currently, the system is
manual: coop members fill out order forms, the information is entered
manually into a spreadsheet, orders are prepared for each farmer, and bills
prepared for each member.
Work in an automated system would have three basic parts.
Set Up by Coordinator
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The coordinator must enter potential food items, including
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item name
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units (e.g., pounds, ounces, gallons, quarts, etc.)
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pricing (mostly price per unit, but sometimes based on ranges)
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minimum order size (if any)
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maximum order size (if any)
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maximum total of all orders (e.g., the farmer has only 50 pounds of
tomatoes)
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For a specific monthly cycle, the coordinator
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adds, removes, adjusts item details
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indicates which items are available
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indicates possible pick up times
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cleans the previous ordering history -- perhaps this is stored separately
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opens the site for ordering
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closes ordering after a deadline
Ordering by Coop Members
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A user makes an order
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The user views an order form containing [only] the items available for the
current ordering cycle.
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a user specifies name and email address
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a user selects items and quantities
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a user chooses a preferred pick up time
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a user chooses a password for subsequent processing
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Upon submitting the order,
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the system sends email to the user, containing an order number
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the user can view and edit the order
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the user can confirm the present order (before coordinator cuts off orders
after a deadline)
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It is an open question as to what to do if a user forgets the order number
and/or password
Reporting and Correspondence
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The coordinator can mark a member's order as paid
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The coordinator can obtain multiple reports:
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orders by farmer, with individual amounts and a total
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orders by coop member, giving details of the order
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The coordinator can send email, following a template, to members.
