Pamela Morgan is doing her part to help promote local products and making it easier to find them at the same time.
Morgan, a Mitchell, Ont., native, launched the app Farm Fresh Finder in 2023 and is now seeing an increase in its use thanks to the growing desire to buy Canadian produce and support local economies.
The app is a one-stop shop for consumers to locate farms and businesses throughout the province. Morgan said she designed it to make finding a local farm or agricultural business as easy as possible.
“It's designed to make it easy for people to find fresh, locally sourced food while on the go.” Morgan said. "The app features an interactive map with colour-coded icons, showing users what's available near them and providing details like pictures, hours, website, contact information, and directions.
"The idea came from my family's own experiences trying to find fresh food while camping in Ontario. Some counties provide farm gate maps, like that of Perth County, but for those that didn't, it was hard for non-locals to find farmers markets or farmstands selling eggs or produce.”
Morgan partnered with Olio Digital Labs in London to create the app, which went live and was soft-launched in late 2023. The formal launch was 2024 when the app started getting promoted through social media, email and in-person.
“This all came at a cost out of my own pocket, but I believe there is opportunity to monetize it once there is enough traffic on the app,” said Morgan. “I am passionate about supporting local farms and businesses and recognized the need for a user-friendly platform to connect consumers with fresh, locally sourced food.”
Currently, the app has over 500 businesses and farms involved with categories including: farmers markets, produce, honey, syrup, meat, cheese, eggs, pick-your-own farms, flower farms, breweries, wineries, spirits, cider, and experiences.
For Morgan, seeing the success in such a short amount of time is exciting because she wants to bring fresh foods to as many people as possible. But she does acknowledge that there is a long way to go.
“It's very exciting that so many vendors have listed so far, but to make fresh foods more accessible to everyone across Ontario, there needs to be far more vendors in every category available to be found on the app,” Morgan said.
“There are also so many great agri-tourism experiences available not just in Perth County, but Ontario-wide, that people don't know about, so I hope they list to gain more exposure.”
Getting involved for farms or businesses is as easy as going to the Farm Fresh Finder website, or downloading the app and registering there. Morgan said she approves all listing before they go live.
She added that she hopes the app can really help consumers and businesses with shopping local.
“Ontario has a wealth of agriculture and farm-fresh food that often can't be found in grocery stores,” Morgan said.
“Supporting local businesses is crucial, especially now, and I launched this app to make it easy for consumers to access local food wherever they are in Ontario.
"Buying local supports our farmers, our economy, and reduces our carbon footprint.”
