Local Food Network was built to scale and grow the local food economy. The program helps food hubs and farms partner more closely to serve larger buyers (such as schools, hospitals, and large grocery chains) and increase the visibility of what local foods are currently available in a state or region. Network provides greater access to local food without losing the benefits of better-tasting food that is grown sustainably, and enables food hubs and farms to grow their businesses profitably.
“Local Food Marketplace has been an outstanding partner in our collective efforts to increase food sales to institutional buyers and families across the state of Montana. Thanks to a collaborative effort, Hopa Mountain and Montana’s food hubs were able to work together to create an aggregate website that allows people who are looking for fresh, healthy, local Montana-grown produce to find it, which is making local food more visible. Just as important, LFM has been excellent at helping understand the needs of institutional buyers and families and how we can best meet those needs. This work is relationship driven and relies on making connections, and the staff at LFM are excellent at both. We love working with Amy and Stefanie and the whole team.” —Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, Executive Director, Hopa Mountain
Key Features
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did you create Local Food Network?
We believe that local food provides many benefits, including boosting local economies, providing people with healthy food, and using our planet’s resources more sustainably. Throughout our 16 years of supporting farms and food hubs with our platform, we’ve seen that regional food systems succeed when farmers and food hubs work together to make products easily accessible, affordable, and available for as long as the seasons will allow. Farms sell in more online stores, food hubs source from other food hubs to fill their supply gaps and extend their season. Local food demand has expanded to the mainstream – including large grocery chains, institutional buyers and food service companies.
These factors drove the creation of Local Food Network, which makes it easier for producers, food hubs and larger buyers (grocery stores, institutions, and others) to dynamically and strategically work together to increase the trade of local food. Local Food Network includes new features within Local Food Marketplace’s existing platform that:
- Facilitates the creation of regional or statewide Food Hub Networks.
- Allows food hubs and other food providers to integrate and transact with larger buyer networks or platforms.
What types of organizations can participate in Network, and do all of them need to use Local Food Marketplace?
Local Food Network is appropriate for food hubs, farms, or any organization that wants to collaborate with other purveyors of local food within a region.
If hubs hold an LFM license, the system offers the maximum automation. Please contact us to discuss how we can support your network if there are hubs not currently using the LFM platform!
Can I participate in more than one network?
Yes! Food hubs using LFM can participate in multiple Networks. In fact, we have food hubs in Montana that are already involved in multiple Networks. Contact us to learn more about how these relationships work.
I already use LFM and transact with other food hubs. How do I add this feature?
Network is a module that you can add to any LFM subscription. You can purchase and add the module to your current plan whenever you are ready. Pricing is available here.
I work with a buyer that would like my products to appear on their procurement platform. Can you help me?
One of the exciting things about Network is that we will be able to help local food companies integrate with buyer procurement platforms straight from LFM! This eliminates the need for you to update two separate systems, saving you time and ensuring you always provide your customers with accurate information.
Contact us to learn more about this integration. Network will only work with approved integration partners and may require consulting with LFM’s integration team.
I represent a large buyer and would like to source more local food. How can you help me?
Local Food Marketplace has relationships with food hubs, farmers, and others selling local food all over the United States and Canada. If you would like to purchase more food from producers in your region, we can:
- Connect you to the right food hubs and/or farmers in your area.
- Work with you to ensure Local Food Network integrates seamlessly with your EDI.
- Get your local partners set up with Local Food Network so they can efficiently make products available to you.
- Consult with all players throughout the process so that transactions can begin happening as soon as possible.
What types of food hub networks are out there? And which ones can LFM help with?
Transactional networks integrate information about supply and allow hubs to transact with each other in one place. The Northwest Food Hub Network is a great example of what this can look like. Click here to download our case study.
Discovery networks allow people to discover which products are currently in their region and where to purchase them.
We also offer private purchasing networks. Local Food Network can integrate with the purchasing platforms already used by restaurants, schools, hospitals, grocery stores, and other larger buyers. These entities typically require sellers to upload their products to their own purchasing software. Rather than going through the time-consumer process of hand-entering every item into these outside platforms, Local Food Network can automatically update a buyer’s platform based on a seller’s current availability, pricing, and pack size.
Some of our customers are also establishing community of practice networks, which convene food hubs for the purpose of sharing ideas, strategies, resources, and solutions. This can be a good first step toward a more formal network where technology is helpful.
We can provide advice and consulting about all of these network types. Contact us for more information.
Can you help us organize and roll out a regional food hub or purchasing network?
We’d love to! We’re consulting with food hubs in several states to help them get networks up and running. Contact us to learn more about how we can help.
Watch “Using Local Food Network to Build a Regional Food System”
Using Local Food Network to Build a Regional Food System
Curious to learn more about Networks? Watch our recorded webinar, “Using Local Food Network to Build a Regional Food System.” This webinar shares what Networks are, how they benefit local food systems, a few examples of existing or forthcoming Networks, and much more.
Case Study: Northwest Food Hub Network
If you’re interested to learn what a food network looks like in real life, read our case study on the Northwest Food Hub Network, which just wrapped up its third year. The case study describes how Puget Sound Food Hub, Linc Foods, and Western Montana Growers Co-op have used their partnership to grow their sales and capacity and provide more local food to buyers.
