By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Market-Maker, a free Web-based resource for all businesses in the food supply chain, has officially launched in this state.
“We’ve already had tremendous response here in Ohio,” said Julie Fox of OSU South Centers in Piketon. “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.”
The key purpose of MarketMaker is to offer access to local fresh foods. Ohio becomes the 10th state to utilize the Web-based resource. Other states supporting MarketMaker include: Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Mississippi and Georgia.
“The ultimate goal is to get all involved in this food chain, including those in distribution and those in transportation,” Fox said. “For instance, when a restaurant chef needs to find fresh vegetables or when a consumer is looking for a certain fresh produce they can find what they’re looking for. We’re looking for new producers to join in this. And the best part is it’s free to everyone.”
The program is part of a national network of state websites that connects farmers with food retailers, grocery stores, processors, caterers, chefs, and other food supply chain contacts.
“MarketMaker provides the ability to identify exactly what someone is looking for and where to find it. Connecting producers and buyers means more access to local, fresh produce. That’s a good thing,” said Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland during the formal launch event at North Market in Columbus in March. “We need to do more to stress preventive health, support good nutrition and fight obesity, and one way is to make sure that people have access to high-quality foods.”
Ohio MarketMaker is supported through the collaboration of Ohio State University Extension, the Ohio Agricultural Re-search 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. Jeni Britton, owner of Jeni’s Ice Cream in Columbus, Ohio, described the MarketMaker website as “addictive.”
“Once you start, the possibilities are endless,” Britton said.
The site will help those looking for a grocery store to find farm-fresh eggs as well as help the farmer find a place to sell them. 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.
Mark Newton, executive chef of Ohio State University’s Office of Campus Dining Services, plans to use Ohio Market-Maker to build local relationships with farmers and others in the food industry.
“We serve 25,000 to 30,000 meals a day, so sometimes it’s a challenge to meet and maintain that volume,” Newton said. “But I can use MarketMaker to help fill those needs and also find local specialty items. I can click on the button and find local farmers who are selling basil. MarketMaker contains a wealth of business information that I never knew existed in Ohio.”
The concept to converge a variety of related databases into one website and to summarize the information by using clickable maps originally came from collaboration between University of Illinois Extension and its state partners.
To learn more about Ohio Market-Maker, log on to http://ohiomarket maker.com, or contact Julie Fox at OSU South Centers at Piketon at 740-289-2071, ext. 225, or e-mail fox.264@osu.edu
For more information on the national MarketMaker program, log on to http://national.marketmaker.uiuc.edu |
