noot-app/foundation-foods-mcp-server

Foundation Foods MCP Server 🔌

MCP server to provide models context around the USDA's Foundation Foods database

Usage 💻

This MCP server can operate in two distinct modes:

1. STDIO Mode (Local Claude Desktop Integration)

• Use case: Local development and Claude Desktop integration
• Command: ./foundation-foods-mcp-server --stdio
• Transport: stdio pipes
• Authentication: None required
• Perfect for: Claude Desktop, local development, testing

2. HTTP Mode (Remote Deployment)

• Use case: Remote MCP server accessible over the internet
• Command: ./foundation-foods-mcp-server (default mode)
• Transport: HTTP with JSON-RPC 2.0
• Authentication: Bearer token required (except /health endpoint)
• Perfect for: Shared deployments, cloud hosting, team access, mcp as a service

Demo 📹

Check out the related project noot-app/openfoodfacts-mcp-server for a near identical MCP server with a demo video showcasing its capabilities and how to use it with Claude Desktop.

How It Works 💡

This MCP server provides access to the USDA Foundation Foods database through three specialized tools, each designed for different use cases and levels of detail.

Available Tools 🛠️

1. search_foundation_foods_by_name

Basic food search with complete data

• Purpose: Search for foods and get comprehensive food information
• Returns: Complete food details including all available nutrients
• Best for: Detailed nutritional analysis, research, when you need all available data
• Example: Get complete nutritional profile for "milk" including every measured nutrient

2. search_foundation_foods_and_return_nutrients

Customizable nutrient filtering

• Purpose: Search for foods with customizable nutrient selection
• Returns: Essential nutrient data (name, amount, unit) for specified nutrients only
• Customization: Accepts nutrients_to_include parameter to filter which nutrients to return
• Best for: Targeted nutritional queries, meal planning, when you want specific nutrients
• Example: Get only protein, calcium, and vitamin D data for "milk"

3. search_foundation_foods_and_return_nutrients_simplified

Fixed high-value nutrients (no customization)

• Purpose: Search with a fixed, optimized set of essential nutrients
• Returns: Default nutrient set
• Optimization: Pre-selected nutrients based on comprehensive data analysis
• Best for: Consistent results, general nutrition tracking, when you want the "best" nutrients without customization
• Example: Get the top nutrients for "milk" - always the same essential nutrients

Local Setup for Claude Desktop (STDIO Mode)

This setup uses STDIO mode for local Claude Desktop integration.

1. Build the Binary

script/build --simple

2. Configure Claude Desktop

Add this to your Claude Desktop MCP settings (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "foundationfoods": {
      "command": "/path/to/foundation-foods-mcp-server",
      "args": ["--stdio"],
      "env": {
        "FOUNDATIONFOODS_MCP_TOKEN": "your-secret-token",
        "DATA_DIR": "/full/path/to/foundation-foods-mcp-server/data",
        "ENV": "development"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Try it Out

Restart Claude Desktop. The mcp server will automatically start and be ready for food product queries.

Remote Deployment (HTTP Mode)

This setup uses HTTP mode for remote deployment with authentication.

Environment Variables

For production deployment (HTTP mode), configure these environment variables:

# Required: Authentication
FOUNDATIONFOODS_MCP_TOKEN=your-production-secret-token

# Optional: Server configuration  
PORT=8080
ENV=production

Running in HTTP Mode

For remote deployment, run without the --stdio flag (HTTP mode is the default):

./foundation-foods-mcp-server

This will start an HTTP server on the configured port (default 8080) with:

• /health endpoint (no authentication required)
• /mcp endpoint (Bearer token authentication required)

Quick Reference

Command Options

Environment Variables Reference

HTTP Endpoints (HTTP Mode Only)

STDIO Mode (Local Development)

A cool tip for developing locally, you can actually do this and it will return a result from the MCP server:

echo '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "params": {"name": "search_foundation_foods_and_return_nutrients_simplified", "arguments": {"name": "milk", "limit": 2}}, "id": 1}' | go run ./cmd/foundation-foods-mcp-server --stdio