General
- What is purpose of FoodFriend?
- Can I help?
- Where did you get this information?

Items
- How should I add an item name?
- Should I add this as an item or a type?
- Why can't I enter serving size information in cups?

Places
- Should place X be entered as a place or a company?
- What is the difference between "Items Produced" and "Items Available"?

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What is purpose of FoodFriend?

FoodFriend serves many purposes, and we hope that many people will find it useful. Our primary goals are:

• To accumulate visual, nutritional, and availability information regarding food
• To accumulate information about stores, restaurants, and farms which sell food
• To allow users to share recipes, links, and communication regarding food
• To allow users to track their diet and anaylze their food consumption
• To make learning about food easier

Can I help?

Everyone is welcome to add new items, places, links, and recipes to the FoodFriend. We only ask that you sign up with a user account, which helps us prevent spam and fraudulent additions to the website. Becoming a member is free, easy and we do not require any personal information. However, by providing your location we can improve your experience by providing information about local items and places and.

Where did you get this information?

All of our data is contributed by individual users. By submitting information to the FoodFriend, you grant us the permission to display, compile, and distribute this information in a freely available resource. The text within Wikipedia links is licensed under the GNU FDL and were written by Wikipedia users. By linking relevant information, we hope to create a practical reference that benefits people everywhere.

How should I add an item name?

Food labels are frequently filled with a number of words used to describe the product. Determining what to name the item can be difficult. As a general rule, the product brand should go first, then the product name, and finally the flavor or variety of this product. Use your common sense though.

"Organic Valley Chocolate Milk" should not be labeled "Organic Valley Milk Chocolate". While chocolate may be the flavor of the milk, changing the order also changes the meaning of the name.

Should I add the availability info as an item or a type?

This is generally a problem with produce and bulk foods. If you know who produced the item, it should be added as an item and then availability can be added as usual. If the item was found in the bulk bins of a grocery store with no indication of who produced the item, this availabiliy info should be added to the type page.

For example, let's say your local grocery store offers two types of bananas. One type has "Chiquita" stickers on it, so this is the item "Chiquita Bananas", because we know what company produced the item. We can enter availability and rate this as a distinct item. The other bananas are "generic bananas" without a sticker identifying their producer. Rating this item is not useful, because it is not distinct from all of the other bananas. Availability info is still important though, so you should go to the type page for Banana and add the availabilty there.

Why can't I enter serving size information in cups?

We have attempted to make a very clear distinction between units of weight (ounces,grams) and units of volume (cups, liters, gallons). These two types of units are often mixed up in recipes (ie, a cup of flour), and this can be problematic, because item volume is dependent on the density. For example, a cup of flour can weigh anywhere from 6 to 8 ounces, depending on the amount of air in the flour.

If the item is a liquid, then the serving size must be entered in units of volume, preferably milliliters. If the item is a solid or semisolid, the serving size will be entered in units of weight, preferably grams. With some items, it may be hard to determine if an item is a solid or fluid. For example, yogurt is measured as a solid, while mayonaisse is measured as a fluid. In most cases, the item packaging will have the neccesary information listed.

Should place X be entered as a place or a company?

This can be a confusing issue, especially considering that most stores and restaurants are legally organized as a company (partnership, corporation, LLC). When adding a restaurant or store, looking up the parent company can be accomplished through the Secretary of State's website. We have compiled a list of these websites at Business Lookup. If a place is independently owned, and organized as a partnership or sole prioprietorship, it should not be added as a company. If a place is owned by a company with a different name than the place, it should be entered as a place owned by the company.

What is the difference between "Items Produced" and "Items Available"?

Items produced is a list of the items that have been produced by that company or place. Items available is a list of the items available at a place. Items that have been discontinued or are out-of-stock will not be visible under the items available tab.