An update on improvements to the site. Enhanced user lists and redesigned user profiles. What will Locifood user lists do for me?

Frank Eckstein at Crippled Crow Farm maintains that "Happy animals taste better!". One visit to his all-natural backyard farm and you will be convinced too - these are some of the happiest animals around.

A lively discussion about the advantages and limitations of CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) was held at Salt, Fire, and Time in Portland. Aaron from Locifood was in attendance, checking out the Portland CSA scene and learning about where CSAs are headed in one of the leading CSA markets in the country - Portland. How do we engage the next 30% of consumers while creating CSAs that are profitable?

At Locifood we've been hard at work on our site to hit our release target for our Portland area pilot to start at the beginning of the farmer's market season here in Oregon. We've visited 12 farms and counting - working with the local producers to help us better understand their food communities. We've also been adding features left and right, read more to see what new features we are working on!

Recently we visited Kelly at Amaranth Produce. Kelly is a great example of someone who turned her passion for gardening and a couple of acres of prime Portland land into a viable subscription farm. In addition to providing a range of produce to her members, Kelly's farm produces fresh eggs and most recently goat cheese. Kelly's well-planned bio-intensive farming practices keep her farm rich and abundant year after year.

Sure, we all know the altruistic reasons to buy local - for the economy, the environment, the farmers, and our health. A humorous and more "inward looking" take on why to buy local!

We have been visiting farms and food producers, taking photos, meeting the farmers and talking about Locifood in preparation for releasing the site before the farmers market season this year. I had the pleasure of visiting Kevin and Ann Browns farm Dolce Farm, a small family farm that produces a variety of local specialties, especially a variety of Icelandic Sheep which they use for meat, wool, and sales for other farmers starting their herds. The majority of their cropland is orchards, where they grow mostly hazelnuts and prune plums.