Sept. 23, 2025, 10 a.m.
2025 Fall Newsletter from OFN USA
The Latest from Open Food Network USA
Hey OFN Community! We know you’re wrapping up a long hot summer that feels like some days it won’t end ☀️; but cooler weather and cooler features are right around the corner. Get involved in our going-ons and see how OFN can change next season for you 🍂
NOW LET’S DIG IN ⛏️
This infrequent newsletter has it all:
A get together, a plea for your contributions, an ethical clothing line, 3 upcoming conferences to know about, an ethical and open source payment method coming to our platform, one podcast interview with OFN UK’s Nick Weir, and some cool places to hang out like Hylo and our Monday Funday office hours where the lovely Kent works his magic.
PHEW that was a mouthful – now lets get into it!
A little note from the Team📜:
Hey! We’re glad you’re here. This newsletters got a lot of good information, but if you feel you need more help or just want to chat 1:1 — we have office hours too! Every Monday at 9am PST join us over at http://meet.openfoodnetwork.net/
more of a chat kind of person? We got Hylo for that – post your questions, look to see what resources are available, and more.
Please let us know how we can help – we do what we do because of you!
Monthly User Meet Ups are Growing – Join now!
Calling all food hubs, shopfront managers, farm hands, and dreamers 📣 This is a dedicated time to get together, learn, and discuss relevant topics that impact your operation with others in the same boat.
Need a feature to help your business thrive online? Want to learn how other farmers are making their online shop front successful and pain free to use for customers and shop managers alike? Or wondering if OFN can be apart of your next grant to help secure funding?
Join our next call October 6th 📅
Feel Like You’re Forgetting Something? It Might Be Your Seasonal or Yearly Contribution 📌
Did we mention we also made it easier? 🫣
Haven’t paid for your last season or year yet? Caught up in the summer rush and forget? Here’s your chance to check it off your to-do list! Make sure you contribute your fair share and help us keep making great features to support our changing food system.
We know you loved our hand typed monthly emails begging for your love and contributions but we also know you love quick and convenient sometimes so we’re gonna be sending our monthly contribution reminder emails directly from QuickBooks now with a direct link in the email to contribute immediately.
That means:
✨Automation and timely reminders
✨More Payment Options (bank draft, credit/debit card, PayPal, Venmo, OFN Donation Shop)
✨Simplicity and convenience in your monthly contribution
Our alter ego may appear as quickbooks@notification.intuit.com but it’s still us behind the mask 😎
We’ll contact you at the end of every month and suggest a fair contribution based on this formula:
Shop OFN Merch
Did you know you can also contribute to OFN when you score some OFN swag? Every hat or t-shirt sold from our swag shop (run by a unionized cooperative, of course) puts $5 in our bank account while keeping you stylish.
Have You Explored Our Resources?
As always, make sure you check the OFN User Guide for an overview, and reach out via email, visit Kent and Emily during office hours Mondays, or make a visit to Hylo to ask any questions!
Keys to unlimited knowledge below:
Conferences and Events
ECO Farm’s 2026 Conference
January 21-24, 2026
The 46th annual conference is at the Asilomar State Beach & Conference Grounds Pacific Grove, CA.🚜
“The EcoFarm Conference is one of the largest and longest-running gatherings of sustainable and organic farmers, ranchers, and food system advocates in the U.S. Held annually in California.”
Registration opens in August 📆
Farming Into The Future 2026 Conference by Future Harvest
Pivot, Care, Grow: Farmers and Communities Building Together
January 22-23rd, 2026
“Our annual conference is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier opportunity for farm-related organizations and product vendors to connect directly with farmers, food system professionals, homesteaders and ag-tivists in our foodshed. Our event attracts small- to mid-scale growers working with fruit and vegetables, flowers, poultry, small ruminants, and more.”
The 2025 conference will take place at the Silver Spring Civic Building in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland.
Registration isn’t open yet but mark your calendars.
PASA 35th Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference
February 5-6, 2026
“Our annual conference draws a diverse audience of rural and urban farmers, educators, advocates, entrepreneurs, community groups, artisans, researchers, policymakers, home cooks and gardeners, youth, and others for sharing and learning on sustainable agriculture and food system topics.”
You can also submit your farm innovation for feature at the conference!
Global Commons News
We are happy to announce that Open Food Network is receiving NLnet funding for #NGI #Taler to offer an ethical and open source payment method on our platforms. And it’s CoopCircuits, the French entity of the Open Food Network, who applied for this beautiful evolution of our marketing management tool in #circuitcourt!
“The project aims to develop and publish an open source Ruby gem to integrate #GNUTaler in Ruby-based e-commerce applications, starting with Open Food Network.
Open Food Network is currently taking care of Stripe and PayPal for online payment. Taler’s addition introduces a low-cost, non-extractive payment option, in line with user values. The gem will be published on rubygems.org and designed to be reused in other Ruby apps such as Spree and Solidus. The project includes testing with pilot users, comprehensive documentation and developer engagement.”
OFN’s Nick Weir on the Accidental Gods Podcast 🎙️
#264 The Power of (good) Food with Nick Weir of the Open Food Network
One of OFN’s best sat down with the Accidental Gods Podcast to discuss what OFN is all about; values, goals, hardships, how it all began, and where OFN is going, and much more.
The readable transcript is linked below, with options to listen or watch the podcast episode.
A little preview about Nick:
Nick Weir helped to set up the Open Food Network UK. Nick has a background in IT account management, but, as you’ll hear, he is also a long-term grower who co-founded the Stroudco Food Hub and Stroud Community Agriculture and is deeply passionate about the role of innovative food systems in creating a kinder, more interconnected society, and the ways in which the Network can model a new way of working which empowers people to bring more of themselves to their work.
We highly recommend you take a moment to read/listen 👇🏽
Add OFN Donations To Your Shopfront ♥️
Set it up, notify your customers, and let it do its thing helping us fund a better food system 😉
Join us this month by adding a donation “product” to your shopfront. Some customers love to pitch in, and this is an easy way for them to do it. Contact us to add an OFN donation to your shop’s options or if you need any help setting up a donation for a local cause or your own enterprise!
Hey, Change Makers, Help us out:
There are lots of ways you can support us all year round, moolah or nah we appreciate every type of contribution! But money works better to pay for server fees of course. Here’s how to help:
- Make an old-school donation : Every contribution counts, and every dollar goes directly to supporting OFN. To contribute at our shop, you choose your own donation “product”, and our gratitude gets delivered right away. Are you more modern than credit cards and Paypal and checks in the mail? Give us a shout and we’ll work it out.
- If you are an OFN hub, you can add a donation “product” to your shopfront and invite your customers to contribute. Check out Grand Rapids Farmers Market Hub‘s shop to see it in action.
- Buy some OFN swag : These union-made t-shirts and hats remind you and everybody who looks at you what OFN does: support everyone in a community. It also firmly establishes you as one of the cool kids…and $5 of every purchase comes to OFN as a donation!
- Spread the word🗣️: Share our mission with friends, family, and colleagues to amplify our impact. Gina’s our social media genius, and if you’re not following OFN on at least two social platforms, you are missing out!
- Contribute what’s fair 🫱🏼🫲🏼: For your use of OFN: We don’t gatekeep access to our software – that doesn’t mean it’s free for us to create, maintain, or support. It means we’re trusting you to contribute at a level that works for you, knowing that our suggested amounts can work out to about a quarter of what you’d expect to pay to use another platform with similar functionality. When you contribute at higher levels, you help us support other folks who are just starting out or are in historically excluded communities.
- Volunteer👩🏽: Are you motivated, communicative, fun, and good-looking? You’ll fit right in! Get involved in our community and contribute your skills and time to further our cause.
Let’s work together to shape a future where everyone can access fresh, local, and ethically sourced food at a price that’s fair for everyone.
Don’t be a stranger.
With love and full support to you and your community,
From your OFN USA Team
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