OUR MISSION:

To reconnect people with their communities through locally made goods.

We’re breaking down the big business barriers built between neighbors. Putting real people and communities first.

Discover and buy high-quality local products whenever you want, all year-round. Support and get to know the makers, growers, and creators in our city’s backyard.

EVALUATED FOR QUALITY

REMARKABLY UNIQUE

TRULY LOCAL

FORAGE LOCAL
fôrij ˈlōk(ə)l (verb)

1. To search over a relatively close area for useful provisions or supplies

2. A community, advocate, and resource for Portland area makers and producers

THE PROBLEM WE SOLVE:

78% of Americans prefer to shop local, but 42% feel finding local products is inconvenient, fragmented, and random. Controlled by big business, our economy evolved so that we’re disconnected from local more than ever. Making it easier to buy something from the other side of the world than products made just a few miles away.

Consider if you had a list of several things you’d like to buy locally made,
what would you have to do to find them?

HOW PEOPLE FIND LOCAL PRODUCTS TODAY

Farmers’ Markets
Limited products & access. (We wish these were open 7 days a week!)

BOUTIQUE STORES
Unpredictable and time consuming. (But we still love them!)

LARGE CHAIN STORES
Limited & featuring local products” as image/sales tactics

website search for locally made products

ONLINE
Competing for the same space big business owns

Shopping locally made isn't easy, which is one of the reasons why "Local Products" are seen as a special treat, premium, and even rare. That’s crazy! 57% of Americans believe cost is a barrier to shopping locally. We’re breaking the myth that local means luxury/expensive.

We believe local products should be the most accessible goods when people need something.

Our vision is to create a world where people can connect with their community through easy access to local products while introducing them to the talented people who made them!

Why Shop Local?

Support the Local Economy
Locally made means keeping money in our community, for every $100 spent with a local independent business $68 stays in the community, compared to $14 for a big-box chain. Creating an overall positive impact on our local economy. Local businesses donate 250% more to local sports teams, charities, and events than big corporations.
For the Environment
If global shipping were a country, it would be the sixth-largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions. Shifting our culture to focus on buying locally sourced and made products will help take a big chunk out of the greenhouse gases produced by shipping around the world. Not only that we’ll reduce packaging waste.
Connect with the Community
Get to know your local makers and the culture that’s reflected in what they make. Know where your products are coming from and feel good about supporting locally and ethically made.
Healthy Body, Healthy Mind
Local + fresh foods tend to be more nutritious and better tasting. They also have "‘on-the-ground standards” so we know what goes into the product, it’s not just someone at corporate saying they do things a certain way. We chat with the people who are actually doing it, so rest your mind, we only accept products from people and animals that are being treated humanely.
Extraordinary
Products that are locally made are made with care, passion, and character that mass-produced outsourced products just can’t match. You’ll find products that are unique to a region, a maker, a culture. Enjoy exploring the extraordinary on Forage Local.