Description
Local Food Nodes acts as a bridge between food producers and local consumers. Producers showcase their offerings, while consumers place orders by making direct payments to the producer. Pickups and deliveries are made at predefined nodes enabling producers to cater simultaneously to multiple consumers and allowing consumers to collect food from various producers in one location. The app is tailored to aid small-scale producers in accessing the market, enhancing their financial sustainability, and encouraging more people to engage in local food production
Technology
Local Food Nodes is an open-source, English-language web application. It features a map identifying the node and producer locations. Clicking on a nodes reveals its location, the connected producers, the available products and the total money flow through the node, while clicking on a producer provides access to their product lists, contact info and online presence. Orders can be placed upon the payment of an annual subscription fee.
Target
The primary users of Local Food Nodes are smallholder farmers, although the app is also accessible to medium- and large-scale farms. As of July 2023, the app boasts 1050 producers and 280 nodes, attracting approximately 20 new users daily
Business model
Local Food Nodes is an open-source app, that is supported by yearly user fees. Consumers decide on the fee amount based on their capacity and the societal value of the app, while no charges are levied against farmers or producers, ensuring they keep 100 percent of their product revenues. Consumers collect and pay for their food directly, strengthening the producer-consumer relationship
Impact
Local Food Nodes has reimagined the food value chain, allowing producers and consumers to deal with each other directly. The app eliminates the middleman, and empowers farmers in promoting their products digitally, and facilitates direct customer interactions. This not only strengthens the financial position of small-scale producers, but also provides consumers with diverse food options. The app has currently attracted fewer than 3200 registrations. The average order value is €11, and there are 280 nodes as of July 2023
Partners
No
Four Betters
Better life
