Our latest news, blogs, ideas, tips and opinion pieces
Molly Scott Cato – OFN Ambassador
We’re thrilled to welcome Molly Scott Cato, former Green Party MEP for the South West, as an OFN Ambassador. She’s always been an advocate of green economics and localism so having her on board is pleasure for us! Here’s her comment on OFN: “We have long known that...
How OFN is evolving to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis
The OFN team is here to support food enterprises online during COVID-19 and beyond. For those setting out on their OFN journey, have a look at our quick start guide and comprehensive user manual. Please contact us with any issues through our support form. Learn...
Support local producers by shopping online!
The Open Food Network helps communities to organise food systems online. We bring together food producers in an online marketplace and help to coordinate distribution such that community-led food projects can thrive! We work with communities across the country -...
Big improvements for shoppers and hubs
This week has been rather an exceptional week in many ways. Amidst the chaos and uncertainty we’ve seen Food Hubs across the country really step up - delivering food for those self-isolating, coordinating supply chain shifts, getting meals to folks that need them....
Helping with Covid-19: all the links for resources and funding opportunities
All over the UK communities are coming together to support people who are self-isolating. They are finding ways to distribute food effectively while maintaining a physical distance from each other. Simultaneously farmers, growers, food businesses, cafes and...
Changes to the way card payments are made
You may be aware that legislative changes have arrived that change the way shoppers make card purchases online. The changes are known as Strong Customer Authentication (SCA). These changes have been implemented to protect customers from fraud when making card...
Voices from our first Community Gathering
Last Wednesday producers, retailers and representatives from community food organisations met in The Friends of the Earth Warehouse, Birmingham, with the OFN UK team. It was a unique opportunity for people, from as far and wide as Cornwall to the Outer Hebrides, to...
Join Our Team as an Integrations Lead!
Are you skilled at scripting, spreadsheets and databases? Do you enjoy making tech that makes life easier? Want to transform the food system for people and planet? The Open Food Network is looking for an Integrations Lead to join our warm, innovative,...
We’ve got new funding!
We’re very pleased to announce that Open Food Network UK has been awarded funding from the Big Lottery Community Fund Digital Stream. The BLCF Digital Fund aims to boost the social tech sector in the UK. The fund is supporting charities to use digital to transform...
Want to grow your community food enterprise in 2020? – OFN Group Coaching
In February OFN UK will be launching our next Group Coaching Programme. This programme is perfect for anyone wanting to grow their sales and customers for their community food enterprise. A community food enterprise can be any enterprise that distributes food for...
Celebrating nature and following its rhythms
Can you hear the birds chirping outside your window? This is the sound of Spring! The days are getting longer - finally! We will soon be leaving the dark half of the year and embracing the early spring rays of the Sun! Soon, it will be time to celebrate the Spring...
How to evade the Hungry Gap: an ethical guide for eaters and sellers
The hungry gap is a time when seeds that you’ve sown aren’t ready and whatever you stored in the winter isn’t good to eat anymore. In this blog post, we’ll look at what the hungry gap is in more detail. We’ll explore the gap’s origins, why we should embrace it and...
Procurement For Good project begins
We are extremely excited to announce that we have started work on the Procurement For Good (P4G) project as of the beginning of October 2024. Procurement for Good (P4G) is a £1.9m research project led by Coventry University’s Centre for Agroecology, Water and...
Open Food Network wins the award for digital innovation in the European Social Economy Awards
There were more than 500 nominations for this award from all over Europe. Open Food Network Europe gets the prize in the section about social economy initiatives operating in the digital economy or with an important focus on technological innovation and/or working...
Hybiau Caffael Bwyd Cynaliadwy yng Nghymru
Dros y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, mae'r Open Food Network UK wedi bod yn gweithio ar gynllun peilot arloesol i ddangos dichonoldeb cyflenwi bwyd lleol ar blât cyhoeddus Cymru. Gan weithio gyda phartneriaid o Ffermydd a Gerddi Cymdeithasol, Cultivate, Cymdeithas...
Sustainable Food Procurement Hubs in Wales
Over the past year, the Open Food Network (OFN) has been working on a groundbreaking pilot to demonstrate the feasibility of supplying local food onto the Welsh public plate. Working with partners from Social Farms & Gardens, Cultivate, Development Trusts...
In response to the Food Research Collaboration’s discussion paper
Natalie Neumann and Rosalind Sharpe from the Food Research Collaboration have created a Food Research Collaboration Discussion Paper titled “Sustainable food hubs and food system resilience: Plugging gaps or forging the way ahead?”This is the last report in the...
Open source tech: why you should care and how you can contribute
Open source is an integral part of who we are at the Open Food Network: our platform, the way we work and much more. It’s even in our name! So, let’s talk about it. In today’s society, open source software exists as an antithesis to the systems we have grown...
Women in Food and Farming
From farmers and food hub coordinations to home cooks and food tech developers, women are central to our food systems world wide. But other systems, like the patriarchy, undermine their contribution. At the Open Food Network, we try to counteract the impact of...
Starting the year at the Oxford Real Farming Conference
It was a great opportunity for us to share with our community some of the great work we have been doing and connect with like-minded people in an environment like the ORFC. And, we left Oxford full of hope and energy after meeting, hearing, and witnessing amazing speakers from all over the world.