Local Food Network

What Local Food Network does

Local Food Network is a private, Virginia-based digital platform company that connects small and mid-sized local food producers with consumers, distribution partners, and storage providers through three integrated tools: Foodshed, a dynamic regional mapping interface for discovering local producers; CoHaul, a cooperative distribution model that consolidates freight across farmers to improve truck utilization and lower per-farm delivery costs; and OrderFlow, a streamlined order management system that stores past orders for easy reordering. The platform is delivered as a web-based, self-serve dashboard accessible at dashboard.localfood.network and is positioned as community infrastructure rather than a consumer marketplace.

The company was commissioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia under the state-sponsored LOCAL Initiative and co-built its framework with the Common Grain Alliance, anchoring it in a public-private partnership that legitimizes its regional scope. Its go-to-market is community-led: a single interest-capture form on the website invites farmers, buyers, distribution partners, and storage providers to join the network, and growth is driven through the Virginia foodshed rather than paid acquisition. Headcount is 1-10 employees, and the company operates exclusively within Virginia.

Commercially, Local Food Network is at a very early stage. Its revenue model is described as subscription/recurring platform services, but pricing is not publicly disclosed and no revenue, ARR, GMV, or funding figures are available. The only disclosed commercial signals are three SMB customer testimonials (Deep Roots Milling, Dragonfly Farms, Papa Weaver's Pork) illustrating reduced distribution friction, simplified ordering, and improved truck capacity utilization. The company has no disclosed M&A activity, no patents or trademarks, no certifications, no AI/ML capabilities, and no executive team information in the available data, making it operationally lean and signaling that any investment thesis would depend heavily on undisclosed internal metrics and the durability of its state-level commission.

Name

Local Food Network

Legal name

Local Food Network

Website

https://localfood.network

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Local Food Network is a Virginia-based digital platform operating Foodshed, CoHaul, and OrderFlow to connect small and mid-sized local farmers with consumers, distribution partners, and storage providers under the state-commissioned LOCAL Initiative.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Food Distribution Platform

NAICS

Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411), Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty & Local Food Delivery (Butcher/Bakery/Farm-to-Home) (TLAAAHAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Farm-to-Consumer Cooperative Markets (Local Producer Co-ops) (CRAHALAG)

Keywords

• Local food distribution
• Farm-to-table platform
• Cooperative logistics
• Agricultural marketplace
• Producer discovery tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Roanoke

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Revenue model

1. Platform Services: The company provides digital infrastructure tools (Foodshed, CoHaul, OrderFlow) to connect farmers with consumers and improve local food distribution efficiency. Revenue model details are not explicitly disclosed in available sources.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Local Food Network operates a digital platform providing three integrated tools—Foodshed (dynamic regional maps highlighting local food producers), CoHaul (a cooperative distribution model for moving local products to market), and OrderFlow (simple order forms with stored order history)—that connect farmers, consumers, distribution partners, and storage partners across Virginia's local foodshed.

Product overview

Local Food Network offers a unified platform with three integrated tools designed to make local food more accessible. The platform consists of Foodshed (dynamic regional maps for discovering local producers), CoHaul (a cooperative distribution model for efficient product delivery), and OrderFlow (simplified order forms for selling local food). These tools work together to connect farmers with consumers and streamline the local food supply chain from production through distribution to sale.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Foodshed: Dynamic maps that highlight local food producers in the user's region.
• CoHaul
• OrderFlow

Products and services

• Foodshed Dynamic mapping tool that highlights local food producers in a specific region, enabling consumers and buyers to discover and connect with nearby farmers and food suppliers.
• CoHaul Cooperative distribution model that enables efficient movement of local products to market by coordinating multiple farmers and sharing distribution capacity, reducing individual delivery costs and increasing truck utilization.
• OrderFlow Simple order form tool that helps producers sell more local food more easily, with stored order history that allows buyers to reorder quickly and streamlines recurring purchasing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased truck capacity utilization from 50-60% to help other farmers while lowering distribution costs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Commonwealth of VirginiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Commonwealth of Virginia commissioned Local Food Network under the LOCAL Initiative to connect farmers, tap into new markets, and help distribute food throughout the local foodshed. This government partnership provides legitimacy and funding for regional food infrastructure development.
• Common Grain AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Food Network and Common Grain Alliance co-built a framework under the Virginia-sponsored LOCAL Initiative to connect farmers, tap into new markets, and distribute food throughout the regional foodshed. This partnership combines agricultural expertise with technology infrastructure.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cropolis: B2B food commerce platform that helps local food producers and distributors manage orders, sales, and logistics. Comparable in targeting local food commerce workflows and SMB producer onboarding.
• MarketMaker: National network connecting agricultural producers, buyers, and food businesses through searchable profiles and mapping tools. Closely comparable to Local Food Network's Foodshed mapping feature and producer-discovery mission.
• Local Food Marketplace: Software platform for food hubs and cooperatives that connects local producers and buyers with order management, distribution, and invoicing tools. Direct functional overlap with OrderFlow and CoHaul in the cooperative local-food distribution space.
• Barn2Door: Subscription-based e-commerce platform that helps independent farmers sell direct to consumers via online storefronts, subscriptions, and order management. Closely comparable to Local Food Network's OrderFlow and producer-discovery focus, and serves the same SMB farmer segment.
• Food4All: Online marketplace and ordering platform that connects local farmers, food artisans, and buyers, with pickup and delivery logistics. Comparable to Local Food Network's producer-discovery and order-routing functionality.

Broad incumbents

• Instacart: Largest online grocery delivery platform in the U.S., partnering with grocery retailers including local and specialty stores. While not focused exclusively on local food, its scale and platform model represent the broad incumbent against which local-food commerce platforms compete for consumer attention.
• Good Eggs: Online grocer specializing in local, organic, and small-batch food, offering delivery of locally-sourced groceries. Overlaps with Local Food Network's mission of making local food accessible, though at significantly larger scale and broader assortment.

Regional players

• Regional Access: Northeast U.S. regional food distribution and aggregator that connects small farms with retailers, institutions, and food services. Comparable to the CoHaul cooperative distribution concept, though operating in a different geography (Northeast vs. Virginia/Mid-Atlantic).
• Farms2Tables: Online farmers market and home-delivery service operating in select regions (notably the Mid-Atlantic), aggregating local farms for direct-to-consumer sales. Comparable regional focus and farm-to-home delivery model, though regionally concentrated on the East Coast.

Emerging players

• Harvie (Harvie Farms): CSA/farm-share platform that provides custom subscription boxes and a software platform for farms to manage direct sales and deliveries. Comparable in serving local farms with order management and customer-facing commerce, though with a stronger CSA/subscription emphasis.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/local-food-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Local Food Network