Giant Locavore

Big news day at the Robot Co-op. First, we want to introduce all of you to Locavore, a powerful yet simple application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that allows users to find the freshest, most sustainable fruits and vegetables no matter where they are in the United States. It was built by the Robot Co-op’s very own Buster McLeod. Here’s how Buster describes the app:

Locavore on the iPhone

“Utilizing built-in GPS and location awareness, Locavore finds a fresh food enthusiast’s location and then shows them what foods are currently in season locally, and what is coming in season soon. Getting this information quickly (especially while at the market and trying to decide what to buy) means that one can get the freshest, tastiest, and most healthy foods available any time of the year.

Locavore finds information about nearby farmers’ markets and food availability data from a collaboration of partners such as LocalHarvest.org, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and others to give users a real-time look at what’s available to them and where to get it. This data will continue to improve and be updated over time.

The application also connects users to recipes from Epicurious and links to Wikipedia through a simple to use and intuitive interface. It features 234 well-known and more obscure fruits and vegetables with beautiful full-color images of each, in case a user momentarily forgets what an aprium or a rambutan looks like.

Locavore is available now at the iTunes App store for $2.99 for the first thousand customers. Coming up in the next update: integration with Facebook Connect to turn the appreciation and knowledge of local food into more of a social, collaborative, effort.”

Questions, etc, you can email Buster at [email protected]

So far, Locavore has been a smash success. Since it’s launch, Locavore has racked up some great press and Buster has sold more than 5,000 copies of the app. Locavore made it all the way to #65 on the top paid apps list in the iPhone store.

Now the big news, true to form, Buster’s decided to double down and focus full time on Locavore and similar iPhone apps. While this means Buster won’t be working on 43 Things and 43 Places, All Consuming or Lists of Bests, it does mean he’ll have more time to bring new greatness to the world like what he’s built with Locavore.

When we started The Robot Co-op, personal growth was always a goal. Buster’s departure will leave a hole at the Co-op we’ll never be able to fill, but we are all very proud of him and excited about his new venture. All of us Robots wish him the very best, and as he’s going to be staying in Seattle (maybe working next door?) we hope to slowly earn back all the upside he has won in 5 years of credit card roulette.