Fast Company Singles Out Forager™ for Regional Innovation with a National Impact
Forager's New B2B Digital Sourcing Platform Aims to Catalyze the Local Food Economy
Apr 24, 2017, 12:39 ET
PORTLAND, Maine, April 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Forager™, a company focused on making locally sourced food widely available to all, announced that it has been recognized by Fast Company magazine for its entrepreneurial leadership within the state of Maine. Forager is highlighted in a May feature as A Pipeline For Local Food. The publication features Forager as a part of its "United States of Innovation" issue that calls out one promising project, initiative, and business in each state with the potential to have a national impact.
"Change doesn't have to happen from the top down. … [With changes] … in Washington, D.C., …people in communities across the country are taking it upon themselves to chip away at the challenges in front of them, coming up with innovative solutions that can have nationwide significance….Together, they present a portrait of the country today—its concerns and responses, and its enduring capacity for progress," according to Fast Company.
Forager is fueled by the passion of its CEO and founder, David D. Stone, a serial technology entrepreneur who wants to give back to the world by accelerating the sharing of local foods. With more than 90 percent of consumers choosing food for its freshness and 40 percent shopping for local food once a week, this $14 billion market is burgeoning. Yet, the cost and complexity of the sourcing process are limiting its full potential and impact. Forager's new online and mobile procurement-to-payment platform radically simplifies the process--reducing time and significant costs in local sourcing, and enabling more grocers, food co-ops, and farmers/producers to offer more local products to consumers.
"We believe that local food can improve our health, create more jobs, reduce our carbon footprint, and help preserve our environment. Yet, only three percent of the food we consume is local. By digitizing the B2B sales and sourcing process, we hope to ignite the local food economy and be a key player in the 'Good Food Movement,'" said Stone. "It is an honor to be recognized by Fast Company for a solution that is intended to help sustain our world," he added.
Forager launched its platform in March after completing a successful regional pilot involving 100 farmers and 10 grocers, food co-ops and wholesalers from Maine. The company is now rolling it out throughout New England and New York State.
To view the Fast Company feature, go to fastcompany.com/40401141/announcing-the-united-states-of-innovation-2017.
About Forager™ (Forager1, LLC)
The mission of Forager is to accelerate the growth of the local food economy and make locally sourced food more widely available to all. The company's online and mobile platform digitizes and streamlines the procurement-to-payment process, saving time and costs for grocers, co-ops, farmers, producers, and other buyers and sellers of local food. For more information about Forager, please see goforager.com.
Contact Dawn Ringel, Warner Communications
781-449-8456 or [email protected]
SOURCE Forager