A summer pilot project to test an online marketplace for local food has exceeded expectations and will be extended into October.

VashonFresh, a program created by the Vashon Island Growers Association (VIGA) and funded by a King Conservation District Regional Food Systems grant, allows islanders to order food from local producers online and pick up their personalized orders at the Village Green. The program is modeled after retailers like Amazon and Safeway, which provide food pick-up services.

VIGA’s service is a pilot program that began in June and was set to run through September. Organizer Dan Carlson announced last week that due to plentiful products and a successful couple of months, the project will continue an extra month.

“Our growers and food makers — over 30 of them — have an abundance of crops and goodies in the late summer and early fall,” Carlson said.

VashonFresh project manager and island farmer Abby Antonelis said that in the two and a half months the project has been up and running, nearly 300 islanders have purchased more than $10,000 worth of local products.

“This has exceeded expectations,” Antonelis said. “The goal was to sell $10,000 of products, and we just passed that. We (also) have at least double the amount of orders per week than we were expecting.”

She said that another benchmark of the program’s success is that the majority of those who use VashonFresh don’t use the Vashon Farmers Market or island farm stands.

“This is a whole new market,” she said.

As the program comes to a close, a professor from Portland State University who is serving as an evaluator, will visit the Green during pick-up days and gather feedback. The evaluator’s findings will help determine whether VashonFresh can be a sustainable program. The findings will be passed on to the VIGA board, which will make a decision about bringing the program back and in what form at the annual VIGA board meeting in November.

“There are a lot of options going forward,” Antonelis said.