Perhaps one of the most popular crowdfunding websites, Kickstarter is a hotbed for innovation in pretty much every industry you can think of. While it can be a mixed bag (plenty of bad comes along with the good) it’s a great way for creative people get much-needed funding for their revolutionary ideas. It’s a great place to find some very interesting concepts in the world of food and drink. Check out our top picks of foodie Kickstarters to watch, and if any of them strike a chord with you, perhaps you might like to contribute a few bucks.

Aletruism Brewing: Changing the World, One Pint at a Time

I always say drinking for a good cause is the best way to drink, so when I saw this Kickstarter campaign, I had to give it a shout out.

Portland, Oregon is a craft beer central, and it also has more non-profit organizations per capita than any other city in America. That’s why the city’s Oregon Public House makes so much sense. The ‘philanthropub’ has established relationships with a number of non-profits, who receive 100% of the pub’s net profits. Since they opened in May 2013, their ‘aletruism’ has raised around $47,000 for these charities.

To continue their mission and expand their capacity to donate even more money to these non-profits, the team behind Oregon Public House has started another campaign to raise money for the equipment they need to do it. If they are able to raise their goal of $36,400, they’ll be able to add a 20BBL fermentor and 24 kegs to their arsenal, which will help them expand their capabilities for raising more funds for the charities. 

Learn more about this project and lend your support here.

The Butter Boss: a Better Butter Gadget

Butter storage has always been a point of contention in the kitchen… do you put it in a dish in the cupboard? Do you keep it in the fridge wrapped up in that messy foil packaging? What’s the most convenient way to store and use it?

Butter Boss to the rescue!

The Butter Boss is a convenient and compact butter container and applicator in one, and it never leaves you with butterfingers. Made from special material designed to withstand high temperatures, the Butter Boss acts like a lip balm container but for butter. Simply fill it with your butter stick, and turn the crank to dispense the perfect amount of butter for your needs every time. It’s dishwasher safe too!

Learn more about this project and lend your support here.

Premium Coconut Oil with a Conscience

We’re all aware of the amazing qualities of coconut oil, even better if that coconut oil is extremely high quality, organic, virgin coconut oil, and better yet if that coconut oil comes with a side of support for social enterprise.

Dignity Coconut Oil is produced and packaged in rural Philippines, creating jobs for over 200 people in the plant and over 300 local farmers. In addition to jobs, its production brings roads and clean water to a village in need. The benefits go even further than that, and the company is now asking for funding so they can create the same amazing results in other communities around the globe.

Learn more and lend your support here.

To A Tea: Create Your Own Custom Tea Blend Online

Coming out of the beautiful Canadian prairie province where I was born (Saskatchewan) is an interesting new way to create your own tea blends. To A Tea lets you select a certified organic base tea, then enhance it with the flavorings and sweeteners of your choice, and then order your custom blend to be shipped directly to you. Base teas include black tea, white tea, rooibos, green, pu’erh, and oolong. Flavorings include a broad range of herbs and spices like cinnamon, cardamom, peppermint, lemongrass, sage and more, and sweeteners include beetroot, stevia, raw sugar and even milk chocolate. You can enhance your custom tea with various nuts and dried fruits, and even add wildcards like dried jalapenos! Sounds like a neat tea party to me.

Learn more about this project and pledge your support here.

Good Food Markets: A Grocery Built to Thrive in Food Deserts

Food deserts are a real problem in the United States, with more than 23 million Americans affected. What’s a food desert? It’s a community, which can be an urban neighborhood or rural area, that doesn’t have access to fresh, healthy and affordable food. These communities suffer from a lack of supermarkets but instead have access to fast food restaurants and convenience stores, which leads to higher levels of obesity and other diet-related diseases (learn more here).

Good Food Markets is trying to change that by creating a new grocery store business model designed to survive in these food deserts. Currently, they have a pilot store located in Northwest Washington, DC, that sells affordable fresh produce, dairy, meat, seafood and a selection of healthy prepared foods that cost less than a fast food meal. They also provide a 15% discount on fresh produce to recipients of food stamps. The purpose of their Kickstarter campaign is to help them stay open as well as open new locations in other food deserts around the U.S.

Learn more and offer your support for this worthy project here.

Asarasi Sparkling Tree Water: Water Harvested From Trees

According to this Kickstarter page, 500,000,000 gallons of naturally pure, tree-filtered water is wasted every year in the current maple syrup production process. This project proposes to save this renewable source of pure water by harvesting it and bottling it for sale, which not only reduces the wastefulness of the process, but also supports the farmers through an additional source of income.

The first production run is ready to ship at the end of May 2015, and the money generated from the Kickstarter campaign will help continue the project and pay for additional inventory, marketing and promotions. Bonus: in honor of Arbor Day, Asarasi will plant a maple seedling for every person who shares their Kickstarter page on Facebook! Not bad.

Learn more and pledge your support here.

Have you seen any neat Kickstarter campaigns lately? Share them in the comments or over on Twitter at @luvoinc.