We had partnered with Eat Local First / Sustainable Connections for some time, supporting their directory of local farmers. Over the years, several other organizations had asked us to help them build a directory of local farms. When Eat Local First approached us about collaborating with these organizations and building out a statewide resource, we jumped at the chance to be involved.
- Website: eatlocalfirst.org
- Designed by: Beans n’ Rice
Over the course of a year in 2023/2024 we worked with representatives from multiple NW nonprofits (Sustainable Connections, Tilth Alliance, Seattle Good Business Network, and WSU) to plan, redesign and re-launch the Washington Food and Farm Finder.
Technical Features
We relied on tried and true plugins like FacetWP and Advanced Custom Fields and supplemented with custom development to bridge the gaps. The project had an additional goal of pushing all of the user-submitted data to their CRM, for which we wrote custom code to connect to the HubSpot APIs.
Featured Feature: Complex Intake Forms
The WA Food & Farm Finder sought to broaden the focus of the directory from farms to all types of participants in the food system. As we added each component, the intake form grew more and more complex. We worked with the collaborative to design a custom form experience that breaks up the form into consumable chunks and helps the user know where they should focus.
