FoodHub, the online directory and marketplace that connects food buyers of all types and sizes with farmers, ranchers, fishermen and food manufacturers throughout the greater Northwest, has blossomed and matured since its February 2010 debut, and is now inviting users to taste version 2.0.

This latest version of FoodHub was introduced today at the 2010 Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association Convention in Bend, Oregon. Improvements and new developments reflect changes made as a result of user analysis and feedback gathered over the last eight months, including:

More Products to Buy or Sell: The site's taxonomy has more than doubled to over 2,000 products, meaning more regionally grown and produced food products are simply a click away.

Heightened Matchmaking: The new version expands the range of customized searches, from general product descriptions to highly specific product requests and suggests potential matches to members upon login.

Easy-to-use Design: An improved, more approachable homepage interface and navigation tools do a better job of orienting new members to the site, and a new welcome video provides new members or returning users with an overview of the system’s features and quick coaching on how to get started and make the most of FoodHub's matchmaking functions.

"With over 600 active users, FoodHub is fast becoming an indispensable marketing tool for food producers of all scale, and where chefs, school districts, grocers, retailers and others are turning to find regional suppliers large and small," said Amanda Oborne, FoodHub’s sales and marketing director. "The new site is more user-friendly and truly a one-stop shop for anything grown, caught or produced in the greater Northwest."

Membership Discounts Now Available
To motivate regional farmers, ranchers, fishermen and food buyers of all kinds to join FoodHub now, several diverse entities from the region’s food and farming community have brought discounts, ranging from 20 to 80 percent off the annual $100 membership fee, to the table. Go to food-hub.org and visit the "Join Now" page to learn more about special discounts and promotions currently available for new members.

About FoodHub
A social venture business of the nonprofit Ecotrust, FoodHub (food-hub.org) makes it easy and efficient for regional food buyers and sellers to find each other, connect and do business. It is the only network of its kind that accommodates food producers and food buyers of every scale and production type across such a significant geographic range. Launched in February 2010, FoodHub is quickly becoming the leading resource for regional food trade in the greater Northwest.

About Ecotrust
FoodHub is an Ecotrust project made possible by the generous support and contributions of many. Ecotrust's mission is to inspire fresh thinking that creates social equity, economic opportunity, and environmental well being. With regard to our Food & Farms program, we improve public understanding of agriculture and the challenges it faces and increase the market share of regionally grown, processed, and manufactured foods. Whether by introducing a farmer to a chef or a food processor to an institutional buyer, Ecotrust is a trusted "benevolent broker" that has been making connections between food buyers and sellers in the greater Northwest for a decade. Learn more at ecotrust.org.

Editors note:
Contact Amy Brown amyb@seed-pr.com for guest password and temporary demo account. Images of screen captures are also available.

Ecotrust

Ecotrust

Ecotrust's mission is to inspire fresh thinking that creates economic opportunity, social equity and environmental well-being. Ecotrust is headquartered in Portland and is a unique organization; it integrates public and private purpose and for-profit and non-profit structures. Ecotrust's many innovations include co-founding the world's first environmental bank, starting the world's first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, food, farms and children's health, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic and environmental decision-making. Ecotrust works locally in ways that promise hope abroad, and it takes inspiration from the wisdom of Native and First Nations. Over nearly 20 years, Ecotrust has converted $60 million in grants into more than $300 million in capital for local people, businesses, and organizations from Alaska to California.

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