Keep in touch
Updates: http://eepurl.com/M5YgD
More info: openfoodnetwork.org/
Explore: demo.openfoodnetwork.org
It's live in Australia:
www.openfoodnetwork.org.au and UK:
www.openfoodnetwork.org.uk
Email us: contact
Why: We believe that farmers should be able to make a living from farming, that everyone deserves good food, and that food systems should be controlled by local communities and businesses – not by global agribusiness or giant supermarkets.
What: The Open Food Network creates an online marketplace that makes it easy to find, buy and sell sustainable local food (a bit like Etsy or E-Bay, but for food producers and hubs). We support independence, diversity, transparency and local
networks to create thriving food economies.
How: We are proudly open source and not-for-profit. We believe that we can change things faster and better if we work together and share what we learn. The work of the global food movement benefits and belongs to all of us, and so should
our technology.
When: Every day, family farms and local food businesses are going out of business all around us – right now. We need new options to connect and support them, and we need them right now.
The first stage of our new online marketplace for local growers and eaters will launch in October!
Where: Born in Australia, for the world! We’re trialing in Australia and raising money to launch a full operation here. Everything we’re building is also available to others to help them set up similar systems all over the world! We’re
currently working closely with partners in UK, USA, India and Canada to get them up and running. This campaign supports all of us.
How Much: If we can raise $25,000 – we can publicly launch a limited service in Australia by October. This will mean profiles for farmers and local businesses, and farmers able to run their own online stores. This is our 'tipping point'
goal - if we don't raise this much we don't get anything!
If we can raise $100,000 we can launch a full service in Australia by March 2015. This will mean that food hubs of all shapes and sizes can set themselves up, connect with farmers and get local food to their communities
AND
funds raised overseas will support the priorities of partners in those countries, helping them get the Open Food Network launched all around the world! If you're somewhere else and interested,
contact us.
We've got great rewards! Pledge now to join the fun
For individuals and fans (everywhere!)
From $20 you can get computer stickers, shopping bags, posters and food hub friends calendar.
$75 Participate in #openfarm day and come to our launch party!
$100 All the above (the full monty - our most popular reward so far!!)
$100 Join the international conversation and shape direction in series of webinars
$500 Sponsor a local food hub in an area that needs them most.
For Producers (Australia only - for now)
$50 Online profile - online profile and promotions, making you visible to retail and wholesale buyers already using the site
$200 Your own fully functional online store (with no hidden or future costs), from October 2014.
For Food Hubs and independent food businesses
$1,000 Showcase Food Hub & Set-up (Australia only)
$2,500 Showcase Food Hub & Set up PLUS Needs analysis and feature prioritisation - with service and support to identify features you need, training and basic tweaks (e.g. changes to reporting if required) (Australia only)
For organisations; local / regional networks and international partners
$5,000 Promote your organisations and network by being one of our first groups - you’ll get your own 'Group' page, workshop and training, and online profiles for your member enterprises or stakeholders.
$5,000AUD - UK Hub starter pack - get set-up and using Open Food Network UK
$5,000AUD - our help to get your instance of Open Food Network set-up, and input into priority development
contact us for more information or with questions.
Need more convincing?
"if this gets the traction it deserves, it could help turn the food system on its head" ... more
"we believe open code is important in the same way open seeds are important. We must not put our food systems in the
hands of private companies who won't share what they know" ... more
"Tapping into a growing uneasiness about concentration of power in the supermarket sector"
..more
See ever-expanding list of partners and supporters below . .
How will OFN help fix the food system?
Lots of people are working to break the stranglehold that supermarkets and large agribusiness have over our food system. We’ve spent 3 years talking with many farmers, producers, eaters and local enterprises (like food hubs, independent retailers and co-ops)
about how we can work together to take back control of our food. The Open Food Network is our response.
By turning the existing food system on its head, the Open Food Network provides efficient ways for buyers (hubs) to connect with many smaller sellers (producers) and distribute food into their communities.
GOOD for Farmers and Producers
There is currently a big gap between selling through "the big guys" or doing everything themselves to distribute directly to eaters e.g. setting up and running their own online store, farm gate sales and farmers’ markets. For many farmers, these are not
enough and take time away from the important work of growing our food.
Farmers need scalable, sustainable systems for distributing their food.
OFN makes it easier for farmers to sell directly and
possible for them to work together and with others (like food hubs) to streamline marketing and distribution, while maintaining full transparency and control. With the OFN, farmers have the freedom to set prices, choose who they trade
with, when, how often and under what terms.
GOOD for Eaters
It's time to reconnect with our food! We're ready to abandon the supermarkets and get good, honest produce from people we know. But sometimes it’s hard work to shop and eat locally.
OFN makes it easy to access locally grown food direct from the grower or transparently through hubs. Just go online, find what's near you and shop . .
It's like an online shopping centre, full of local food!
GOOD for Communities and Food Hubs
"Middle men" matter . . the problem is when there are only two! We want every community to have many different ways to get sustainable, local food. Local food enterprises - like buying groups, co-ops or larger scale wholesalers, retailers (and everything
in between) can make this possible.
OFN provides simple online ordering and shopping tools that make it easy to set up a hub and start moving food -
while keeping the farmers and prices transparent all the way through.
It removes admin barriers to small and medium sized food hubs working with local farmers
The OFN provides an ultra-flexible system for food hubs, enabling communities to set up what they need. Food hubs using OFN have complete freedom over:
- Your customers – whether they are households, buying groups, institutions, food service etc
- Your mark-ups and fees – OFN has a flexible fee structure so you can set it up how you want it, easy, transparent, independent
- Who you work with – OFN supports diverse networks, partnerships and social enterprise, with relationships and flexible fee structures
The Open Food Network:
- is an online marketplace that farmers and local hubs can use to distribute food
- makes it easier to find, buy, sell and move sustainable local food
- is software that helps organise the trade and distribution of locally grown food
- lets you manage your ordering, scheduling, payment and delivery cycles
- lets eaters order locally grown food from their chosen hub
- puts eaters in touch with the people who grow their food
- lets farmers list their own produce, set their prices and tell their own stories
- basic trading is free for farmers and eaters to use
- is proudly open source and not for profit
