Open Food Network: Moving the Food Movement

Open Food Network Canada (OFN) is a not-for-profit organization that is levelling the technology playing field and empowering small-scale producers, artisans, and food hubs to get online with their open source platform. OFN acts as a directory, advertising space, online marketplace, and tool for sharing information and resources about sustainable food systems. The OFN platform is layered, allowing users to start simply and grow into the more powerful features.

For a case study of the creation of OFN, see Introducing Open Food Network.

For a webinar about open data standards, the OFN, and the digital farm enterprise tools, see  Opening Up Food Data.

Read Theresa Shumilas’s report on the information-communications technology needs of food system stakeholders, Talking Tech With Foodies.

Watch Theresa Shumilas’s digital story about OFN, including her perspectives on opening up food data.

In 2019, Olivier de Schutter, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, announced that he is proud to be an OFN ambassador. In voicing his support, he noted that the Open Food Network offers a “digital highway” that enables eaters and producers in a given territory to connect, build initiatives together, and support food sovereignty. He also noted that such tools are essential for alternative food systems to develop.

As part of its Community Investment Program, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) funded Theresa Schumilas’ project, “Testing on-line farmers’ markets in food insecure neighbourhoods” in 2018. The project brought two under-represented groups (urban food insecure communities and isolated rural ecological farmers) into the rapidly expanding digital food economy using open access tools.