An Inside Look At The Latest Food Crowdfunding Platform, Join Us For Meet The Innovators: Food & Tech + More

Every week we curate and deliver the latest food tech news, trends and startup resources to our readers’ inboxes. We track the top technology and innovation happenings across agriculture, CPG, retail, restaurants, cooking and health, so our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector.

From TripAdvisor’s $140 million acquisition of a restaurant reservation startup to an inside look at the Canadian Startup that’s connecting farmers directly with restaurants, these are last week’s top food tech stories. Like what you read? Feast your eyes on the full roundup here. Or better yet, sign up for our newsletter and get the latest and greatest in food tech delivered to your inbox every week.

1. New Food Crowdfunding Platform fundafeast Helps Food Startups Grow

The NYC-based startup now has three active campaigns and is looking to scale quickly. Beyond raising capital, fundafeast provides food projects with mentorship and discounted services, like web developement and legal help.

2. Hack A Better Food Future at Hack//Dining NYC – June 27-29 at General Assembly

Early bird tickets are now open for individual hackers. Snag your spot for $35 by this Friday, May 16. If you’re participating on behalf of an organization with more than 10 employees, please register for corporate tickets – available for $100. Spaces are limited, so sign up today.

3. Meet The Innovators: Food & Tech

Our own Danielle Gould, investor Alain Bankier and Kitchensurfing CEO and co-founder Chris Muscarella will be chatting food tech this Wednesday, May 14 at the SoHo Apple Store.

4. Restaurant Reservation Service LaFourchette Gobbled Up By TripAdvisor For ~$140M – TechCrunch

Along with its  apps and API, LaFourchette also sells its software to help restaurants move online. TripAdvisor’s ability to strengthen its existing restaurant offering appears to be the driver for this acquisition.

5. Buying Local Food — On Your Phone – Modern Farmer

As money is once again flowing into grocery-delivery services of all kinds, new, tech-driven business models are springing up in the local-food marketplace.

6. Provender Aims to Disrupt Global Food Industry by Returning Control to Farmers – TechVibes

By disintermediating the supply chain, and connecting farmers and their stories with the restaurants that use their produce, Provender aims to use the power of the Internet to forge direct relationships from farm to fork.

7. Snack Food Giant Wants Startups to Help Solve Its Problems –Startup Smart

Mondelez International’s new program will fund and support startups that have the potential to solve some of the company’s most pressing problems using mobile technology, like proximity beacons, dynamic shopping lists and inventory auditing and optimization.

8. Food Tank’s Summer 2014 Reading List – 18 Books For A Better Food System – Food Tank

This list of books and reports teach us where our food comes from, how farming can both influence and mitigate climate change, and what we need to do to change our eating habits so that we can have can have a hand in alleviating hunger, obesity, and poverty in our communities and across the globe.