Our Values

As a global collective we share a set of values and beliefs that underpin everything we do.

These are the things we care about:

Global Commons

Everyone in the community co-creates and shares responsibility for our global commons (the Open Food Network community itself, the Open Food Network platform, the digital commons and more generally, the land, the air, water and soil).

Relationships

We put great value on the interconnections between people; and between people and all other beings.

Ecosystems

We support farmers and producers moving towards regenerative forms of agriculture, that (re)build resilient natural systems, taking into account the soil, air, water and biodiversity of our planet for future generations.

Transparency

We believe fundamentally in openness both in the platform we are building and the organisation that supports it.

Empowerment

Our project creates conditions in which people empower themselves to create the food systems that work for them; this gives people a real say in their livelihoods and the creation of their local food economy.

Subsidiarity

In the context of global collaboration we believe that decisions are most effective when they are made at the most local level possible; trusting all stakeholders to make decisions that best serve the needs of the whole community.

Kindness

We are building a people system. Care and empathy for each other lie at its heart; celebrating respect, solidarity, diversity and inclusivity.

Constant Emergence

We live in a perpetually evolving world, which requires constant agility, organic growth and letting go.

Systemic Change

We believe in a global transition that addresses the root causes of current ills, not its symptoms. Part of this is our commitment to decolonisation and prefiguring systems that we want to be brought into being.