A new farmer-owned app is connecting consumers with growers across the United States. Called GrownBy, the app allows shoppers to purchase produce directly from farms. These personal transactions give growers more control over their business, which could in turn help strengthen local food systems.

GrownBy shows users a map with all participating farms in their area. Consumers can browse farms for single-purchase produce, or a share in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) plan. If a shopper doesn’t see their local farm on the map, they can invite them to join the app.

There are over 60 farms registered on GrownBy, and more than 1,200 shoppers, Lindsey Lusher Shute tells Food Tank. Along with co-owning Hearty Roots Community Farm in New York, she is the founder and CEO of Farm Generations Cooperative, which developed GrownBy. The app originated at the National Young Farmers Coalition, which Lusher Shute co-founded more than a decade ago.

“At Young Farmers, we were looking for opportunities for our network of farmers to support each other more directly as business owners,” Lusher Shute tells Food Tank. “We surveyed the entire membership and technology rose to the top of our priority list.”

Read the full article about GrownBy by Elizabeth S. Eaton at Food Tank.