CURATED BY NIKI DE WITT
In St. Louis, Farmplicity is making farm-to-table more accessible by connecting chefs to farmers online. The online marketplace initially started as a school project and has since signed up about 150 farmers and restaurants. While Farmplicity is currently available for those in St. Louis, they hope to link more farmers and restaurants in other cities in the Midwest.
FROM FASTCOMPANY
Jolijt Tamanaha, a self-professed foodie, grew up chowing her way through New York City’s tasty melting pot. But she didn’t think much about where that food came from until she saw the documentary film American Meat during her sophomore year at Washington University in St. Louis.
The film, which focuses on a generation of livestock farmers who are rejecting factory farming in favor of more sustainable and humane practices, inspired Tamanaha (pictured right) to learn more about the farm-to-table movement in her college town. She wanted to help family farmers compete more successfully against big distributors and attract more money to the St. Louis economy.
To that end, Tamanaha, signed up for a hands-on entrepreneurship class called The Hatchery and before long, she had teamed up with three classmates, all undergrads at the university’s Olin Business School, to develop a business plan for Farmplicity, a Web-based marketplace that would connect St. Louis chefs with farmers in a 150-mile radius….Continue Reading
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Niki is currently exploring Asia while working on a children’s book series about travel. As a child, she traveled and moved often for her parents’ jobs. As a result of this, she has always felt most at home when she’s off and away. She is interested in international films, working on building an impressive tea collection, and can often be found with her camera in hand. You can have a look-see at her blog and follow her on Twitter @nikidding.
