The Farmplate Blog

Kickstarter for Local Food: Three Revolutions Helps Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Jeff Gangemi Jul 18, 2012 The Beat 0 comments

On July 17, 2012, Three Revolutions launched the world's first crowdfunding platform dedicated to farm and food ventures!

Here's how the platform works: Farmers, food processors, and food-associated businesses, artists and artisans, communities building gardens, brewers, abattoirs, activists, food hubs, and many others can share their story and funding needs on the 3R platform. Backers can fund these ventures with as little as $10 or as much as several thousand. The farmer or food entrepreneur responds with the tempting promise of a monthly shipment of cheese over the coming year, an open tab at the local brewpub, a half-priced CSA or perhaps an overnight stay at their farm. 3R takes a cut to fund its operations.

Check out the site:

“Crowdfunding is perfect for food because food is tangible. Food intersects with nearly every facet of our lives. And increasingly, we want to be connected to its source,” says Kevin Lehman, who co-founded Three Revolutions with Chris Lindgren.

“We want Three Revolutions to be the place where food innovators and appreciative eaters make connections and build community,” adds Lehman.

Three Revolutions is based in – and primarily focused on – Vermont but plans to help fund projects from around the U.S. With the recent passage of the JOBS Act, which legalizes crowdfunding for small-scale equity investment, Lehman says Three Revolutions plans to extend their offerings beyond the donation model.

Here are the first four projects seeking funding on the site (don’t forget to visit them and give your financial support):

1. Keep the Tap Running • Aqua Vitea  

Aqua Vitea's goal is to raise $5,000 to gussy up a new delivery van with artwork by their artist-brewer Mike Kin. In addition, they hope to install four taps through the side of the van so they can serve up fresh Kombucha and Cultured Tea at festivals and events.

2. Small Cell Comb Honey Bee Trial • Dancing Bee Gardens 

Dancing Bee Gardens' goal is to raise $852 for a trial to test the hypothesis that honey bees raised on small cell comb will develop from egg to adult faster than bees raised on today's standard comb.

3. Bringing Rice Farming to Vermont • Boundbrook Farm

Boundbrook hopes to raise $6,000 to import a special rice harvester to enhance their harvesting capabilities in soft paddy ground. It will also allow them to help incubate other wet rice projects in the region by performing custom harvest for other growers with small plots.

4. Developing New Foods, Sourced Locally • Two Guys in Vermont

Two Guys' goal is to raise $12,500 for seed money so they can introduce three new, unique delicious foods. Monies will go directly to buying the fresh foods they’ll need for research and development, packaging costs and critical items related to testing new recipes. New recipes feature 86%-100% of foods that are locally grown and can be sourced from family farms.