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You can create an account with OFN by visiting the orange padlock or ‘Login’ in the top right hand corner of the screen.
After registering you will be sent an email asking you to confirm your email address.
If you do not receive this email then check your spam or junk folder; it may have been directed there by mistake. If you still can not find your account confirmation email then contact your local OFN support team.
No.
Many shops on the platform allow customers to check out as a guest. It is up to the manager of your local shop whether they permit this or not.
If you would like to purchase as a guest but are required to login when you get to the checkout then you can drop their management team (contact details found under ‘Contacts’ tab at the top of the page) an email or phone call.
Your transaction and order history are saved. You will be able to see what you have purchased in the past. Useful if you really liked that jar of jam and can’t remember the exact brand or flavour.
When you log in you will be able to easily navigate to the shop you last visited and purchased from: Click on the ‘Shopping @ ‘ button in the right hand corner of the screen.
Having an OFN account will enable the business you shop from to give you special privileges. For example some businesses will offer early ‘opening times’ for loyal customers, discounted delivery for groups who live close to one another, money off purchases for volunteers… etc. To access any of these things (should they exist) you will need to have an OFN account.
This depends on how the business you are shopping with operates. You will need to register for an OFN account if:
The shop you would like to access is ‘private’. For example a member’s only buying group.
You would like the shop you purchase from to set you up with a regular, automated order (called a subscription).
Information in your account (such as card details and password) will not be accessible to anyone other than yourself. Card details and passwords are stored encrypted and securely.
When making a purchase through the platform you will be asked for a billing and shipping address, whether you have an OFN account or are checking out as a guest. Businesses are required to collect billing address information by law for the traceability of payments. If you have an account, this information will be filled in automatically for you. If you checkout as a guest you will need to type it in each time you make a purchase.
To view your OFN account, log in and then click on the orange person in the top right of the screen. This will reveal a drop down menu from which you can navigate to your account.
Under this tab you will be able to see all the orders you have made in the past. Clicking on ‘View’ will bring up an order summary in a new tab. This is handy if you can’t remember the name of something you brought in the past which you really liked and would like to purchase again!
In the UK the direct URL to view your past orders is https://openfoodnetwork.org.uk/account#/orders
If you check the ‘Remember this card?’ box at checkout when you are logged into your OFN account then the card will be saved to this tab.
The full card number and details are not visible.
You can delete a card at any time (say if it becomes out of date).
In the UK this is the direct URL to your credit card information: https://openfoodnetwork.org.uk/account#/cards
Details of the card saved as ‘default’ will be automatically entered at checkout. You will be able to delete these and enter the details of an alternative card if desired. Saving your card number in your account can save you time but is not necessary unless you have an automated order set up with a shop you purchase from.
If you have a regular, automated order (subscription) with a shop on the platform which you would like to pay for by card (credit or debit) then you will need to add a card here, and tick the ‘Allow charges’ box next to the shop’s name.
Under this tab you will be able to see all the different businesses on the platform with which you have placed an order in the past.
In the UK the direct URL to view your past transactions is: https://openfoodnetwork.org.uk/account#/transactions
This is where you can reset your password.
In the UK, the direct URL to visit your account settings is: https://openfoodnetwork.org.uk/account#/settings
‘Subscriptions’ are a service offered by some shops on the OFN platform. As a customer, if you have a ‘subscription’ from a shop then you will have an order placed on your behalf at a regular interval.
If you buy the same items from your local OFN shop every week, fortnight or month it is worth asking them if you can have a subscription order. It may save you time and subscriptions can offer security to the local food economy if producers know they can expect a minimum income each month.
To set up a subscription you will need to get in touch with the shop you normally purchase from. Their contact details are found under the ‘Contact’ tab.
Not all shops offer subscriptions and for those who do, the range of products available on subscription may be more limited than their entire range. But it is always worth asking, if this is something you would like!
If a shop is able to organise a subscription for you, they will need to know the following information:
The email address associated with your OFN account.
The items you would like to purchase on a regular basis.
Your preferred collection/delivery time/day for your regular order.
Your preferred method of payment for your regular order.
The frequency which you would like the order (weekly, fortnightly, monthly…)
Start and end date (if you are giving a subscription as a gift you may like it to run for a limited time rather than indefinitely).
You will need to register for an OFN account and have an active email address in order for the business to set your subscription up.
If you would like to pay for your subscription order by card then it is necessary to add and save a card to your OFN account and tick the box to ‘Allow Charges?’ to the shop you would like the subscription with:
If you have more than one card saved in your account then it is the one with the ‘default’ box checked which will be debited when payment for your subscription order is requested.
If you change your default card then it will be necessary to re-check the 'Allow Charges to Default Card' box under' Authorised Shops to for payments for any subscriptions you have with those shops to be processed.
Every time an order is automatically generated for you, an email will be sent to inform you of its contents. If one of the items in your subscription is not in stock that week/month (perhaps the baker is ill and is unable to bake bread) then the quantity in your email confirmation will read ‘0’.
The email will also inform you of the current price of each item. Over time prices may fluctuate. The cost of your subscription will reflect the current cost and not the cost when the subscription was first created.
Some shops may allow customers to remove items from their orders or cancel them altogether, within a limited time frame. In which case you will be sent two emails. The first will notify you that your automated order has been placed and give you a link to follow if you wish to change your order:
Adding to your basket by following this link will generate a second order and you will be directed to the checkout to pay for your additional items separately from those in your subscription.
When orders close for that week/fortnight/month, you will be sent a second email confirming your final order contents and informing you that payment has been taken (if you are paying for your subscription by card- payment will not be automatically taken if you pay for your subscription by cash or bank transfer).
The shop you purchase from on the OFN platform opens and closes periodically in what we call ‘order cycles’. You will be sent an email to say your subscription order has been placed when the order cycle corresponding to your subscription opens (ie weekly, fortnightly, monthly). Payment will be taken when the order cycle closes.
From time to time, if you pay for your subscription by card, you may receive the following email. Don't worry!
Get in touch with the business with whom you have a subscription and they will be able to let you know how to pay for this particular week's/month's order.
Before your next order, log into your OFN account and visit the 'Credit Cards' tab. In the UK you can follow this link: https://openfoodnetwork.org.uk/account#/cards
Check that the 'Allow Charges to Default Card' box is checked next to the business with whom you have a subscription.
You will be asked to periodically re-visit this page and re-check this box. This is an extra security measure brought in by European banks called Strong Card Authentication (SCA). You can read more here.
Check that your card registered as 'Default' is in date. Add a new card if necessary.
You can certainly purchase more items each week from your local food enterprise. These extra items will be added to a new order, however, which you will need to pay for via the regular checkout system.
If your local shop charges a small fixed fee per order for delivery/collection then get in touch with them (email and phone number can be found under ‘Contact’). They will be able to remove this fee for your top up second order for you, so that you are not paying twice!
Yes, this is certainly possible. The best way to do this is to contact the shop who you are purchasing with and they can adjust your subscription order accordingly.
This is certainly possible. Just drop the shop where you have the subscription with an email or phone call and they can arrange the rest.
This is certainly possible. Just drop the shop where you have the subscription with an email or phone call and they can arrange the rest.
This is certainly possible. Just drop the shop where you have the subscription with an email or phone call and they can arrange the rest.
The beauty of locally grown and made produce is that it is seasonal. If an item in your regular order is out of stock (for instance lettuce in the winter or bread if the baker is ill that week and can’t bake) then your order confirmation email will have a zero in the quantity column next to it. The balance of your order will be adjusted accordingly.
No. The cost of your subscription will fluctuate based on the current price of the items within it. This is to ensure small producers always receive a fair price for their products.
A step-by-step guide to shopping locally including:
Choosing when you would like your order
Tips on how to find the products you were looking for
From basket to checkout and order confirmation
Finding out more about your food including who made it and transparent pricing
Sometimes you may find when you land on the Shop page of the business you wish to buy from it looks like this:
In the drop down red box there will be a number of options. Some shops will run separate order lists for food versus plants, others will have an order list for collection this week/month and then maybe another list for collection in a few weeks time. In the run up to Christmas you may find your shop allows you to place an order for collection in December as well as the option to buy for collection the current week.
You can navigate between the different shopping lists available by the same box (changes to blue after you have selected an option) if you change your mind over collection date:
Items may be listed grouped by category (ie. all the fruit and veg listed together and all meat items listed together) or they may just be alphabetically listed.
You can search for items by their product name and the producer’s name (in case you know Mrs B makes amazing cakes and you want to see her whole range!). The search box is found on the left of the screen under the menu tabs.
In this example I search for ‘carrots’:
In this example I search for all the products on offer made by Lively Foods:
A list of possible filter options are found to the right hand side of your screen on a laptop/PC or can be viewed by clicking on the grey ‘Filters’ button on the top right of your screen on a mobile/tablet:
You can filter products by type (in blue) or property (in black). In this example I use the filter buttons to select only those foods listed as ‘Savouries and Tasty Treats’:
In this example I use the filter buttons to find only those products listed as being ‘Certified Organic’:
Find the items you wish to purchase and add them to your basket using the orange ‘Add’ button.
As you add items to your basket you will see that the number counter in the top right hand corner increases.
When you are ready to buy or if you would like to edit your order click on the basket icon on the top right of the screen and go to ‘Edit Basket’ or ‘Checkout’.
At checkout you will be asked to complete your address details before choosing a shipping or collection method and finally a payment method.
Address details will be automatically completed if you have an OFN account and have made a purchase in the past. You can edit any details by clicking on ‘Expand’ to the right of the menu:
A billing address is a necessary legal requirement in many countries to prove traceability of money, goods and services. Your information will be stored and used in accordance with local data protection laws.
After clicking on ‘Place Order Now’ you will be redirected to an order confirmation page and will receive a confirmation email.
If you have an OFN account then you can view your order at any time.
Transparency is a fundamental part of what the Open Food Network as an organisation believes in. We want to connect customers to their food and to the people who made it.
Hence, when viewing a shop you can click on a product name to find out more about the item. Information such as ingredients, allergens, how it was made and more will appear in a pop out window.
Underneath the name of a product there will be the name of the producer- the grower, farmer, baker, artist, cook… in blue. Clicking on this name will bring up another pop up window where you can read the producer’s story. There are also links to their social media accounts, website and their contact details in this window.
Next to each price is a pie chart. This will inform you of how the money you pay as a customer for the product will be redistributed between the person who made the item and the shop who is selling it (admin fee), how much accounts for the cost of packaging or transport and how much will be reinvested in a community project (fundraising fee).
Under the price will be the unit cost of the product. This enables you to compare the price of products independently of packaging sizes and weights.
A list of all food enterprises which are currently open in your country can be found under the /shops tab from the home page.
In the UK this URL is https://www.openfoodnetwork.org.uk/shops
You can search by shop name, town, county or postcode.
The ‘Filter By’ box enables you to narrow down your search if you are looking for a shop which sells a particular type of item (eg. fruit and veg), one which offers delivery, or one which meets specific criteria in the type of products they stock (eg. vegan, certified organic items).
Some shops on the Open Food Network will be open cyclically each week or month, like a weekly market which takes orders in advance but offers collection on one day a week/month only. These shops tend to take orders up until a day or two before collection/delivery. The time between the shop ‘closing’ and you being able to collect your items enables the food producers to bake the bread you ordered, harvest the apples, package the eggs etc.
If the shop you have heard about from a friend does not appear in your search then it might be closed at the time you are looking. Click on the blue ‘Show Closed Shops’ button at the bottom of the page.
When you have found a shop, it is always a good idea to bookmark the URL which will take you directly to the outlet next time.
The vision of Open Food Network is:
A world where fair and open food supply networks connect people and regenerate the earth.
The Open Food Network aims to enable people (everyone!) to be able to source their food fairly and directly from local farmers, growers and producers.
Shopping on the platform empowers you as a customer: it is easy to see where your food comes from, the story behind where or how it was grown or made, and the amount a producer will directly receive from your purchase.
Short local supply chains build communities. You can purchase milk from the local dairy, bread from the baker on your highstreet, vegetables from a local allotment etc all in one go and at your convenience. Knowing that a real person, who runs a small business near you (who you may even bump into on the street from time to time) benefits directly from your weekly shop strengthens your local economy and builds food sovereignty.
The Open Food Network is a global software platform. The code base is open source, which means it is owned by everyone. No one person has the authority to remove access to or ask for payment for use of the code. The Open Food Network platform is only a host for the local food enterprises who are registered on it. When you purchase on the platform it is an interaction between yourself (as a customer) and a local food enterprise. The Open Food Network is a not for profit organisation.
Welcome to the Open Food Network!
This short video takes you on a tour of an online farmer's market shopping experience. The process of shopping from any store on the Open Food Network is very similar.
After the video, follow the links to read in more detail about any of the subjects covered.
Who are the Open Food Network?
Including information on: -Tips on Searching shop fronts for specific products
-The checkout process
Get to know your food and those who made it, including information about transparent pricing on the platform.
Your OFN Account including:
-the information stored in your account
-situations where you might need an account
-how to manage your saved credit/card details
-how to change your password
Regular Automated Orders/ Subscriptions including information on:
-How you can ask for one to be set up for you
-What to expect
-Payments
Common Questions you may have.
When you land on the home page of the shop you would like to buy from, you will see a number of tabs across the top of the page: (to find a local shop read more )
Under each tab is more information about the food business you are purchasing from: the story of the people behind your local produce, how to connect to them on social media, their contact details and more...
This section will inform you about how the shop operates. For example, you may find information about the different delivery/collection times the business offers, what their seasonal promotions are, conditions for collection (eg. bring a bag with you) and/or any other services they offer.
This section is all about the food business who runs the shop front you are looking at. The business may make or produce some or all the food that they offer for sale, or they may source from local suppliers. Learn more about how the business operates, how they choose their suppliers or make the food they sell or their vision for the local community.
Here you will find a list of all the businesses and individuals who supply the shop you are looking at. By clicking on each name will bring up a pop up window where you can read more about the producer. This is a great place to find out more information about who and where your food comes from. You can also see which other local shops on the platform stock that producer’s items.
Do you want to get in touch with the shop? Perhaps you would like to find out more information about one of their items, or you ordered something for collection this week and now you are unable to make the collection time and date….
Whatever the reason, this is the best place to look. You will find a contact phone and email address for the shop along with links to their social media accounts and any external website they may host.
Some food businesses on our platform team together to be part of a group. Businesses within the same group often have shared beliefs, suppliers in common or are geographically close by.
To buy items go directly to ‘’!
The best way to change your order is to get in touch with the shop who you purchased from. You can find their email address and phone number under the ‘Contacts’ tab.
If you pay for your shopping by cash on collection or make a bank transfer payment to the business then they may allow you to edit your shopping basket for a limited period yourself via your account. You will need to have an account with OFN to be able to do this.
If you visit the ‘Orders’ tab in your account it will appear as:
Clicking on ‘Edit’ next to the order in question will bring up a summary of the order. Here you will be able to change the quantity of each item or delete an unwanted product altogether.
You will not be able to add extra products to this basket though.
BUT you can certainly purchase extra items- how often do we all go to a shop and come away with everything except the item we went in to get?!
Just visit the shop front again and add the vital milk/bread/butter which you forgot to get in your first order and proceed through checkout as normal.
If your local shop charges a small fixed fee per order for delivery/collection then get in touch with them (email and phone number can be found under ‘Contact’). They will be able to remove this fee for your top up second order for you, so that you are not paying twice!
If you have a query about collection or delivery services offered by the business you wish to purchase from, the best thing to do is to get in contact with them directly. You can find their contact details (email and phone number) under the ‘Contacts’ tab on the shop front.
It is always worth asking! If there are enough other customers who would like a different delivery or collection time/location it may well be something your local food enterprise will be able to offer.
If you have a query about collection or delivery services offered by the business you wish to purchase from, the best thing to do is to get in contact with them directly. You can find their contact details (email and phone number) under the ‘Contacts’ tab on the shop front.
It is always worth asking! If there are enough other customers who would like a different delivery or collection time/location it may well be something your local food enterprise will be able to offer.
If you have a query about a particular product you would like to buy the best thing to do is to get in contact with your local shop directly. You can find their contact details (email and phone number) under the ‘Contacts’ tab on the shop front.
It is always worth asking! There may well be other customers in your area who are also looking or would like to purchase the same product from the shop. If those who manage the local food enterprise are aware they can investigate finding a local, sustainable, high quality supplier for that item.
If you have forgotten your OFN account password choose 'Forgot password?' from the pop out window after you click on 'Login' (top right hand side of the screen).
This will send an email to the address which is linked to your OFN account. If you do not receive an email with a link to reset your password then please try these steps:
look in your spam or junk folder.
add 'openfoodnetwork.org' to your safe or trusted list for your email client.
Much of the content on internet is spam. Email clients employ filters to prevent these unwanted emails from reaching you. On occasion they also block emails you would like to receive, such as those from the Open Food Network. If the steps above do not work then please contact your local OFN support team. They will be able to help you.
Once you have logged into your OFN account you can update or reset your password at any time by visiting 'Account Settings'.
Much of the content on internet is spam. Email clients employ filters to prevent these unwanted emails from reaching you. On occasion they also block emails you would like to receive, such as those from the Open Food Network.
If you have just signed up for an OFN account (and are awaiting your account confirmation email) or have just placed an order (and are awaiting your order confirmation email) then check your junk or spam folder to see if the email has been misdirected there.
If you are unable to locate the email then please contact your local OFN support team. They will be able to help you.
One way in which to help prevent further emails from being blocked in the future is to add 'openfoodnetwork.org' to your 'safe' or 'trusted' list in your email client.
Some products may have the label ‘Bulk’ in the top right of the photo. This means that the shop you are shopping with can only supply these products if a minimum threshold across all orders is met.
You will be asked to enter a minimum and maximum quantity of the product you would like to buy. The ‘minimum’ is the amount you would like in an ideal world. By setting the ‘maximum’ higher than the minimum you are agreeing to purchase slightly more if it means that the shop is able to make up a bulk order and everyone get some of what they want.
‘Bulk’ buying is common for shop fronts of buying groups. Contact the business you would like to shop with for more information about how they operate this service and the benefits it can bring you and others in your community.
If you would like to buy a large quantity of one product then pop one in your basket by clicking on the orange ‘Add’ button. Then click on your basket icon and select ‘edit basket’. From here you will be able to type in a number into the quantity field and press ‘Update’.
Yes. Only items which are in stock will appear on the shop list. If you try to add more than the stock level available to your basket you will be prevented from doing so.
No. If you are looking for a product which you purchased last week but can not find it this week then it might be out of stock. Seasonal produce grown locally will only be in stock as nature dictates. This means the products on offer are likely to change throughout the year. It is best to contact the business who you are shopping with to find out why an item is not available and when they next expect it to be restocked.
If you logged into your OFN account before you started to shop then the items in your basket will remain there, so you can come back to complete your purchase at any point, if you get called away part way through shopping.
The products in your basket will not be reserved for yourself. If stock is limited on an item then it is the first customers to check that item out to whom it will be assigned. You might get to the checkout and find that you are told one of the items you wished to purchase has become out of stock between you adding it to your basket and checking out.
If you reach checkout and have completed all the relevant boxes to finalise your order but clicking on the ‘Place Order Now’ button does not bring you to an order confirmation then there are a few things to check:
In order for the OFN shop front on your browser to ‘talk to’ payment provider sites (eg. Paypal, Stripe) and the OFN database, it is necessary to ‘Accept Cookies’. Follow the steps outlined here to check you have enabled cookies associated with openfoodnetwork. You can also try deleting any cookies you have for our platform, refreshing your browser and then re-accepting them (the Cookies banner with the green ‘Accept Cookies’ button should appear if you do this).
On occasion, very high security settings in your browser can prevent all payments to online e-commerce. Visit your browser’s settings and reduce the security level by one notch, refresh the page and try to pay again.
If neither of these steps work then contact the OFN support team in your country.
We will endeavour to help you make your order as quickly as possible. We know how important a source of sustainably produced, local, fresh food is for your physical health and mental well being.
You might be recommended to visit a local shop on the OFN platform by a friend, but when you land on the page you see this notice:
Some shops opt to operate a ‘members only’ policy. For example a local buying group or collection of friends and neighbours may club together to purchase items in bulk at a discount from wholesalers. Often these shops are more than willing to accept new members. They may ask for a small fee to cover admin costs of their business or ask if you are willing to help with deliveries/collections.
Get in touch with those who manage the business by email or phone (found under the ‘Contact’ tab) to find out how you can become a member.
The beauty of buying from local small producers is that you know the food you order will be made/harvested/packaged specially for you by a real person who lives not too far away.
In order for your local bakers, farmers, butchers, florists… etc to prepare orders often a shop will close a day or two before collection.
You can contact the shop (details found under the ‘Contact’ tab) to find when they will be open again.
