#foodtree

Guest Post written by Derek Shanahan, Co-Founder of Foodtree - curators of Urbandig's Locavore Guide in Vancouver, BC. 

At Foodtree we think quite a bit about where our food is from. We’re 

fortunate to be headquartered in a city that leads the world in its attention to local food, so finding a meal that’s primary sourced from producers in the area is a bit easier here than it can be in other major cities in North America and worldwide. Here’s a fun fact: the 100 Mile Diet movement got its start here and quickly spread throughout the continent!   Vancouver’s farmers market scene is rival to all the standout farmers markets in the United States, entertaining thousands of food lovers every week, year-round. The chefs in town take full advantage of their access to farmers, and a long list of the city’s restaurants boast seasonal menus based around fresh food they find at local markets and through relationships with local producers. The very first stop on the Locavore Tour is Save-On Diner, a revitalized spot that will install a rooftop garden through a partnership with SOLEfood, an urban farm on the downtown east side.   

 At Foodtree we’re building tools to make it easy to find out where your food is from, as well as how and by whom it was made. We think people want more information about what they’re eating, and we’re seeing signs of that all over the food landscape, as farmers leverage technology to connect with their consumers, and as restaurant-goers demand insights into the quality and provenance of the ingredients on the menu. New restaurants all over the world are increasingly focused on local, fresh food, and there’s no better way to experience a city than to partake in its unique food culture.   As such, we were convinced that a Locavore Tour of Vancouver’s famous Gastown neighborhood was a perfect fit for the launch of Urbandig. Anthony (our CEO and resident food expert) put a phenomenal insider list together based on his experience as a chef all over the world. These are the spots he takes his family and our team when we eat out, and the list includes suggestions on which dishes to order. If you do the tour in order, you’ll walk away full, happy, and your friend’s new food czar.