With a successful crowdfunding campaign behind her and a new website built, Rosemary Ostfeld has moved her dream of connecting local farmers directly to consumers from a mere idea to reality.

So far, Ostfeld said, her Healthy PlanEat website has signed up 10 farms to be part of a growing network that she envisions could someday encompass much of New England, New York and perhaps beyond. She also has coordinated regular farm pickup sites this summer at East Lyme Town Hall, where residents can get orders fulfilled from 9:30 to 11 a.m. every Saturday, and at Long River Farm in Old Lyme from noon to 6 p.m. every Wednesday.

Farmers get to upload inventory on the site, setting both wholesale and retail prices as well as distribution times. The website lists all products from each farm and also provides information about the farmers.

"It's fun," she said. "It gives farmers direct control and allows them to market to customers."

So far, Provider Farm in Salem, Drew's Honeybees in Norwich, Muddy Roots Farm in Wallingford, Cugno's Farm in Colchester, Fat Stone Farm in Lyme, Cold Spring Farm in East Haddam, Star Light Garden in Durham, Cato Corner Farm in Colchester and Long River Farm are aiigned with the Healthy PlanEat network, with Fishers Island Oysters on Fishers Island coming onboard in the fall, Ostfeld said. Orders placed by midweek at Provider Farm and Drew's Honeybees are available at the East Lyme pickup on Saturday, while Long River Farm orders placed by Tuesday are available for Wednesday pickup in Old Lyme.

"We're really building community," Ostfeld said. "People are getting the chance to meet the person who grows their food. ... The fun part of this is getting to know your farmer."

Ostfeld, an East Lyme High School graduate with a Ph.D in land economy, built her new website thanks to a $10,000 Indiegogo campaign she launched in the spring. She said an article in The Day about the campaign helped her connect to several local farms and gave the fundraiser a boost.

One of the farmers who found Ostfeld through the article was Walker Potts of 20-acre Long River Farm on winding Tantummaheag Road. He bought the property seven years ago and spent two years putting the farm buildings back together after being abandoned for at least two decades.

"We use modern twists on farming," Potts said, including hydroponic techniques that allow more produce to be raised in smaller spaces and passive solar to reduce energy consumption.

He had just been contemplating developing a website for his farm to be able to increase sales direct to consumers in light of a declining obusiness to restaurants when he heard of the Healthy PlanEast platform. Trained as an engineer and in the midst of developing his own boat-related app, he immediately understood the benefit of Ostfeld's approach to selling produce online and figured he could help her develop the website to be of maximum benefit to farmers.

"I figured she'd be grateful to have direct intel from farmers," he said. "It's certainly helping us reach new customers in our community."

Potts said he'd much rather give Ostfeld a 7 percent cut of his sales than pay a distributor the typical 30 percent cut.

The Healthy PlanEat website allows customers to search specific farms to see what produce they have available. With a few clicks of a button, they can then order their food for pickup later. The Healthy PlanEat website takes a small slice of the sale, but the big winner, said Ostfeld, is the farmer who otherwise would have a hard time connecting with so many customers in such an efficient manner.

It's also a boon to customers trying to avoid crowded supermarkets in the midst of the current pandemic. Ordering is remote, and pickup is generally in outdoor spaces where social distance is no problem.

Potts, for one, likes the idea of looking at customers eye to eye, and he says locals enjoy the interaction with a farmer.

"It's trendy, it's faddy," he said. "Everyone likes to know a guy. ... Everyone likes to feel a little closer."

And, he added, "It's one of the few fads that's actually healthy."

Ostfeld, who as a teen worked at White Gate Farm in East Lyme, said she wants to connect with farmers who employ sustainable growing practices and eschew synthetic fertilizers and pesticides as well as genetically modified organisms. Farmers interested in being part of the Healthy PlanEat network can email info@healthyplaneat.com.

"I've been visiting the farms I add to the platform to see how they grow," said Ostfeld, a big proponent of organic farming.

She started the website focusing on produce, but she's interested in expanding into other types of farming, and recently signed on providers of maple syrup, cheese, honey and oysters.

When Ostfeld was raising money for her project, the pandemic had closed down many local farmers markets, so ordering farm food online seemed to be perfect timing. But now that many farmers markets have resumed, she still sees her website as a plus.

"This can really complement them," she said. "Customers can pick up their orders at a farmers market. It's another outlet."

Ostfeld said she is not planning to impose a size limit on farms that become part of the network, but she believes the website is particularly helpful to small farms.

"I hope that soon, as this grows in Connecticut, people can become more aware of the wonderful farms around them," she said. "Ultimately, this is about about bringing people closer to what is happening in their community."

l.howard@theday.com