Food Crowdfunding: From Acorn Crackers to a Food Museum

Crowdfunding is a great for food entrepreneurs looking to validate product market fit, raise capital and market their product or service. As part of our commitment to help food entrepreneurs succeed, we’ll be launching a monthly roundup of the most interesting crowdfunding campaigns we come across.

Got suggestions for super cool campaigns? Share them in the comments below, and we’ll consider including them in our next roundup. And check out other rad food crowdfunding projects we’ve covered here and our first crowdfunding roundup here.

Don’t Go Nuts is on a mission to bring more safe snacks to people with severe food allergies. Its revolutionary sourcing process guarantees that all products are nut-free all the way from the field to your fingers. The startup is looking to raise $20,000 on Barnraiser to expand its product line beyond kids snacks to nut spreads and adult bars.

Cloudfarm’s Seedsheet, an “agricultural paint-by-numbers,” aims to make planning and planting a garden as easy as making your bed. Users create a fully customized ‘virtual garden’ with the startup’s garden building software, and then Cloudfarm prints the seed-filled sheet and ships it to their door. All users have to do is lay the sheet in their garden and add water. Cloud Farm recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for $30,000 to produce Seedsheet at scale.

Slow Money is collecting $100,000 in contributions in what is calls the first BEETCOIN campaign. Its putting the funds raised towards three-year, 0 percent loans for two of the food entrepreneurs (selected by popular vote) who presented at its recent Louisville gathering. When the loans get repaid, Slow Money will reinvest the funds in entrepreneurs at future events.

Mighty Wild wants to reintroduce acorns to the western diet through gluten-free, vegan crackers made from acorn flour and organic whole grains. The sister founder duo launched a Kickstarter campaign to start producing their acorn flour crackers on a commercial scale. If you help them reach their stretch goal of $50,000 by December 5, they will double the amount of trees they plant as part of their partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation.

Foodseum wants to bring a wiener exhibit to the Windy City (DYK: Chicago has the most hot dog stands in the U.S?). The museum will be completely dedicated to the education, celebration and inspiration of food. It just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $30,000 to develop its first exhibit, ‘The Hot Dog and Encased Meat of the World.’

ROOT wants to connect people to their food sources. Its countertop garden with an automated light and watering system can grow up to 16 herbs and vegetables in any indoor environment. The companion app will sync with the device and send you notifications when your garden needs water or nutrients. ROOT also offers a seedling subscription service to help you jump-start your at-home gardening game. The team is hoping to raise $75,000 through Indiegogo to put their working prototype into production. ‘

CoffeeCSA is on a mission is to bring the best organic coffee direct to customers while improving the lives of small-scale farmers globally. The platform is collectively owned and governed by coffee farmers who control the entire process from harvesting to distribution. Organic coffee lovers can pre-pay seasonally or pay monthly for their share of the harvest, which gets delivered directly to their doors. CoffeeCSA launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 to purchase and install a zero-emissions coffee roaster in its California warehouse.