Building stronger communities through local food
Local food is about more than where we eat. It supports jobs, independent businesses, farmers, creators, neighbourhood events and the places that bring people together.
Local Foodies is being built to help people discover what is nearby, help local food businesses become more visible and create practical ways for communities to connect through food.
Community First
Local Foodies believes a platform should prove its value to a community before asking residents, businesses or organizations for financial support.
That begins with useful local discovery, accurate information, community guides and practical ways to help people find and support local food businesses. We are starting in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge under the Kw Foodies regional identity.
Supporting independent food businesses
Independent food businesses need to be found, trusted and chosen by people who are already looking for local food. Some of that is working today; the rest is being built.
- Local discovery
- Public business profiles
- Reporting inaccurate information
- Claiming an existing listing
- Owner-managed images
- Owner-submitted offers
- Owner-submitted events
- Expanded business publishing and moderation tools
Markets, producers and local food
Local food is bigger than restaurants. Farmers’ markets, independent grocers, butchers, bakeries, specialty food retailers, farms and producers, food halls and caterers all shape what a community eats — and all of them are hard to find in one place.
Local Foodies brings them together so residents can shop, cook and cater locally, and so producers reach people who want to buy nearby.
Community Table
Community Table is the developing charitable and community-support initiative of Local Foodies. Its future purpose is to help connect local food businesses, community organizations and residents with practical opportunities to reduce food insecurity and support neighbours in need.
Local Foodies is not currently collecting or distributing donations through Community Table.
Local events and belonging
Food festivals, markets, community dinners, cultural food events, restaurant events, fundraisers, pop-ups and local food experiences are how people meet their neighbours. Event discovery is live today, and it is being developed further as more organizers join.
You do not just find somewhere to eat. You find somewhere to belong.
Creators and local voices
Local Foodies plans to help local creators spotlight independent businesses, neighbourhood favourites and overlooked food experiences — the places a search engine never surfaces but a neighbour always recommends.
The creator programme is being developed and is not open yet. Creators are welcome to join the early-access list below.
How communities can participate
Everything below works today. Beta testing happens through the early-access list — there is no separate open signup.
Join the early-access list
Be first in when Local Foodies opens in your area.
Report inaccurate information
Tell us when a listing is wrong, closed or out of date.
Suggest a missing business
Know a local restaurant, market or caterer we have missed?
Nominate a city or region
Tell us where Local Foodies should go next.
Introduce a community organization
Markets, BIAs, food-security groups and neighbourhood associations.
Discuss a future partnership
Tourism groups, municipalities and community partners.
Where Local Foodies stands today
So no one has to guess what is real, every commitment sits in one of three states.
This page will change as initiatives move from longer-term vision, into development, and then to available now.
- Local food discovery
- Restaurant and market listings
- Early-access waitlist
- Listing-error reporting
- Business-claim requests
- Regional-interest submissions
- Owner publishing tools
- Expanded moderation
- Community Table
- Creator tools
- Community partnerships
- More complete local directories
- Expansion into additional cities and regions
- Broader support for local producers and food organizations
- Charitable and food-security partnerships
- Nationally connected local-food communities
Join the early-access list
Local Foodies is in a private beta while we build carefully with the community. Add your email and we will let you know when early access opens near you.
Start locally. Listen carefully. Give communities useful tools. Help good local businesses become easier to find. Grow only when the community is ready.