East Lyme woman plans app to connect people with food from local farms
East Lyme native and Wesleyan University professor Rosemary Ostfeld is hoping to build on her startup Healthy PlanEat with an app that allows people to order items from local farms.
And, benefiting those who might be asking, "What's a rutabaga?" or wondering what they can make with turnips, it would include recipes featuring in-season produce.
Ostfeld, 31, launched a Kickstarter campaign last week, with the goal of reaching $40,000 by mid-February. If successful, she aims to launch the app at the beginning of the summer, and get participation from farms in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York.
Through Ostfeld's existing Healthy PlanEat website, she works with farms that are certified organic through the U.S. Department of Agriculture or have signed the Northeast Organic Farming Association Grower's Pledge.
Her current partners are Four Root Farm in East Haddam, Provider Farm in Salem and Starlight Gardens in Durham. Compared to the website, Ostfeld said the app will have new features and allow her to engage more farmers.
She said each farm will be able to create its own page with product listings and pickup options, and people can pick up their orders from the farm, a farmers market or a pop-up event.
Ostfeld said the app would also be good for people who are interested in buying locally but don't want to commit to a CSA — community-supported agriculture — share for an entire season.
Starlight Gardens farmer Jen Hill said it's a good way for people to "get fresh produce that they have chosen themselves, instead of CSA models where you don't get much choice."
In November, Healthy PlanEat and Starlight Gardens held a pop-up in which people who ordered food online could pick it up at Kidcity Children's Museum in Middletown every Monday afternoon. In the future, Ostfeld envisions holding pop-ups at gyms or yoga studios.
"There's always people trying to be the middleman in a certain way, in the local food area," said Aaron Taylor of Four Root Farm, "but I really appreciate how she's trying to do it in a way that's really helpful to and respectful of farmers and what they need."
Their partnership only began in the fall, at the end of the farm's season, so Taylor said he just got a couple people placing orders here and there. But he hopes it will pick up in the spring, and that Ostfeld can get more farmers, as more choice will make the project more successful.
Ostfeld's background includes working at White Gate Farm in East Lyme the summer after her freshman year of college, and she holds one master's degree in earth and environmental sciences and one in environmental policy.
She started working on the idea for Healthy PlanEat when she was a Ph.D. student in land economy at the University of Cambridge, and has slowly been developing it over the past several years.
Organic farmers who want to partner with Healthy PlanEat can contact Ostfeld at info@healthyplaneat.com. The Kickstarter campaign is at bit.ly/planeatkickstarter.
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