Easy way to find local food buyers or sellers

COLUMBUS — Finding that local farmer who sells fresh eggs or connecting with a fellow retailer, restaurant or food processor is now just a computer click away.


Ohio MarketMaker, a free Web-based resource for all businesses in the food supply chain, has officially launched.

Network

The program is part of a national network of state Web sites that connects farmers with food retailers, grocery stores, processors, caterers, chefs and other food supply-chain contacts.


Ohio is the 10th state to join the MarketMaker family.


Ohio MarketMaker is supported through the collaboration of Ohio State University Extension, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the Ohio Farm Bureau and the Center for Innovative Food Technology.


Nearly 100 individuals in the agricultural and food industries attended the launch event to learn more about how Ohio MarketMaker works and how the program can benefit their business.


MarketMaker boasts one of the most extensive collections of searchable food industry-related data in the country — categorized by buyers, sellers, location and other demographic information.


The concept to converge a variety of related databases into one Web site and to summarize the information by using clickable maps originally came from collaboration between University of Illinois Extension and its state partners.

Learn more

Learn more about Ohio MarketMaker, or contact Julie Fox at Ohio State University South Centers at Piketon at 740-289-2071, ext. 225, or e-mail fox.264@osu.edu.


There’s also a national MarketMaker program.