VeggieTrader.com: The New Site That Let's You Save Money, Get Rid of That Extra Broccoli and Meet Some Nice Foodies

By Ari LeVaux, AlterNet. Posted August 26, 2009.

You find each other online. After a brief exchange of messages, you both agree it's a good match and arrange to meet in person to do the deed.

Before the appointment, you harvest some ripe tomatoes from your heavy vines and place them in a reusable shopping bag. Then you ride your bicycle to the appointed location, a community garden where your counterpart has a plot.

You return home with your bag full of potatoes, zucchini, and, as an unexpected bonus, an ear of sweet corn.

The broker in this deal is Veggietrader.com, which has enlisted more than 7,000 members since coming online in April. Prospective traders from all 50 states have prowled the site's bright and whimsical pages, and now some Canadians want to play, according to co-founder Rob Anderson of Portland, Ore.

Something like a combination of Facebook, Craigslist and the farmers market, Veggie Trader was created by Anderson and his wife, Tam Crawford, in response to a disturbing observation they shared.

"We looked around and saw all this food going to waste," said Anderson. "With the economy the way it's been, it's a shame."

Signing up and using Veggie Trader is free. To search for trading partners, plug in your ZIP code and the distance you're willing to travel in order to make a deal. The search results display who has what to trade, where they are, and what, if anything, they want in return.

The most popular entry in the "what you want in return" category, says Anderson, is "whatever," or "anything but [the item being offered]." And this is telling.

"It's not just about the veggies or fruit. There's a social component. People are looking to connect with like-minded folks in their neighborhood," Anderson says.

"I have cabbage, garlic, dill and, in a few weeks, heirloom tomatoes," reads one post. "All the vegetables are grown without pesticides or herbicides. I also have many cooking and gardening magazines to trade."

Soon after Veggietrader.com went up, it was evident it offered to do more than disperse surplus produce. Before the growing season had even progressed to the point where anything was ready to harvest, there was a brisk trade in seedlings. Since then, pictures of baby plants growing up in their new homes have been exchanged, and plans have been made to share the fruits when the time comes.

It seems that Veggie Trader is helping catalyze the formation of relationships that were waiting to happen, and this might become its most enduring effect, long outlasting the shelf life of perishable produce. And while it would be far from Veggie Trader's intended purpose, it seems a matter of when and not if romantic hook-ups are reported.

Right now Veggietrader.com is a self-funded labor of love, but someday, Anderson hopes, he'll figure out a way to convert the site from a hobby into a day job.

Will Veggietrader.com get bought out by Google? Will users be required to pay commissions in strawberries and garlic? Will it become a registered nonprofit and go for grant money? Anderson and Crawford are still chewing on the possibilities for revenue generation, but for the moment, the site is refreshingly free of advertisements and doesn't even display a way to donate.

See more stories tagged with: food, farming, veggie trader, sustainable ag

Ari LeVaux writes a syndicated weekly food column.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »