Canada's Food Guide MCP Server
README.md
# 🍲 <a href="https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/" target="_blank">Canada's Food Guide - MCP Server</a>
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## 📝 Description
The **FoodGuide MCP Server** bundles three powerful Health Canada resources into a single toolset for comprehensive nutritional analysis:
* **Official Recipes:** Search and scrape the [Canada's Food Guide](https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/recipes/) recipe database.
* **CNF Database:** Fetch exact nutrient data for ingredients from the [Canadian Nutrient File API](https://produits-sante.canada.ca/api/documentation/cnf-documentation-en.html).
* **DRI Calculations:** Use cached [Dietary Reference Intake](https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/dietary-reference-intakes.html) tables to calculate demographic-specific macronutrient targets and energy requirements (EER).
| Example | Video |
| ------------- | ------------- |
| Find Themed recipes for a week | <a href="https://youtu.be/CjWSxeWg-O0?t=223" target="_blank">  </a>|
| Suggest recipes from an image of your groceries | <a href="https://youtu.be/CjWSxeWg-O0?t=307" target="_blank">  </a> |
| Calculate your estimated macros intake and energy requirements | <a href="https://youtu.be/CjWSxeWg-O0?t=40" target="_blank">  </a> |
| Calculate Macros for a recipe | <a href ="https://youtu.be/CjWSxeWg-O0?t=116" target="_blank"> </a> |
#### Two setup modes:
| Mode | Tools available | DB/Storage? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| **HTTP** (remote/self-hosted) | Scraping + calculation tools (24 tools) | No | Most users -- nutrition lookups, recipe search, EER/DRI calculations |
| **stdio** (full) | All tools incl. SQLite (46 tools) | Yes | Power users -- recipe macro analysis, favorites, user profiles |
Check **IMPLEMENTATIONS.MD** if you'd like to contribute or collaborate! Always looking for suggestions!
You can use this <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TELVtKLN35yxGFC10751WnByRtpWndYPjC4WKWw4Cgo/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">**google sheet**</a> to verify EER and CNF calculations shown in the trailer videos in the current repository.
## 📑 Table of Contents
- [📝 Description](#-description)
- [📥 Installation](#-installation)
- [🚀 Setup by Client](#-setup-by-client)
## 📥 Installation
1. **Prerequisites**:
- <a href="https://www.python.org/#:~:text=Download" target="_blank">Python 3.10 or higher</a>
- <a href="https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/installation/" target="_blank">pip (Python package installer)</a>
2. **Clone the repository**:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/Aryan-Jhaveri/mcp-foodguidecanada
cd mcp-foodguidecanada
```
3. **Install dependencies**:
```bash
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
```
4. **Find your Python path** (needed for client config):
```bash
which python3
```
5. **Get the absolute path to the project**:
```bash
pwd
```
### HTTP mode -- scraping + calculation, no DB (24 tools)
Start the server in a terminal and leave it running:
```bash
python3 src/server.py --transport http --port 8000
# Server running at http://0.0.0.0:8000/mcp
```
Then configure your client to connect to `http://localhost:8000/mcp` -- see [Setup by Client](#-setup-by-client) below.
### Full mode -- all tools incl. SQLite (46 tools)
Run via stdio -- no separate server process needed. Configure your client with the stdio snippets in [Setup by Client](#-setup-by-client).
---
## 🚀 Setup by Client
| Mode | DB tools? | Tools available |
|---|---|---|
| **HTTP** (start server first) | No | Scraping + calculation (24 tools) |
| **stdio** (full) | Yes | All tools incl. SQLite (46 tools) |
---
### HTTP mode -- scraping + calculation (no DB)
> **Before configuring your client:** start the server in a separate terminal:
> ```bash
> python3 src/server.py --transport http --port 8000
> ```
> Keep it running while using your client.
Most clients use <a href="https://github.com/sparfenyuk/mcp-proxy" target="_blank">`mcp-proxy`</a> to bridge stdio to HTTP. Claude Code connects natively.
**Claude Desktop**
Navigate to: Claude Desktop → Settings (⌘,) → Developer → Edit Config
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"FoodGuideSousChef": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-proxy", "--transport", "streamablehttp", "http://localhost:8000/mcp"]
}
}
}
```
Restart Claude Desktop after saving.
**Claude Code**
```bash
claude mcp add FoodGuideSousChef --transport http http://localhost:8000/mcp
```
**Cursor**
In `.cursor/mcp.json` (project) or `~/.cursor/mcp.json` (global):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"FoodGuideSousChef": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-proxy", "--transport", "streamablehttp", "http://localhost:8000/mcp"]
}
}
}
```
**VS Code (GitHub Copilot)**
In `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
"servers": {
"FoodGuideSousChef": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-proxy", "--transport", "streamablehttp", "http://localhost:8000/mcp"]
}
}
}
```
---
### Full mode -- all tools incl. SQLite DB
No separate server process needed. The client launches the server directly via stdio.
Replace `<python-path>` and `<project-path>` with your actual paths from the [Installation](#-installation) steps.
**Common Python paths by system**:
- **Homebrew (Mac)**: `/opt/homebrew/bin/python3`
- **System Python (Mac)**: `/usr/bin/python3`
- **Anaconda**: `/opt/anaconda3/bin/python3`
- **Linux**: `/usr/bin/python3`
**Claude Desktop**
Navigate to: Claude Desktop → Settings (⌘,) → Developer → Edit Config
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"FoodGuideSousChef": {
"command": "<python-path>",
"args": ["<project-path>/src/server.py"],
"cwd": "<project-path>"
}
}
}
```
Restart Claude Desktop after saving.
**Claude Code**
```bash
claude mcp add FoodGuideSousChef -- <python-path> <project-path>/src/server.py
```
**Cursor**
In `.cursor/mcp.json` (project) or `~/.cursor/mcp.json` (global):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"FoodGuideSousChef": {
"command": "<python-path>",
"args": ["<project-path>/src/server.py"],
"cwd": "<project-path>"
}
}
}
```
**VS Code (GitHub Copilot)**
In `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
"servers": {
"FoodGuideSousChef": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "<python-path>",
"args": ["<project-path>/src/server.py"],
"cwd": "<project-path>"
}
}
}
```
---
### Optional flags
```bash
# HTTP mode with custom port
python3 src/server.py --transport http --port 9000 --host 0.0.0.0
# Environment variable alternative (for deployment)
MCP_TRANSPORT=http PORT=8000 python3 src/server.py
```
### Troubleshooting
- If the server doesn't appear, check the Claude Desktop logs for error messages
- Verify Python 3.10+ is installed: `python3 --version`
- For HTTP mode, verify the server is running: `curl http://localhost:8000/mcp/`
---
<div align="center">
<p>Made with ❤️ for Canada's Food Guide</p>
<p><a href="https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/" target="_blank">Canada's Food Guide</a></p>
<p><a href="https://food-nutrition.canada.ca/cnf-fce/?lang=eng" target="_blank">Health Canada's Canadian Nutrient File</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/dietary-reference-intakes/tables.html" target="_blank">Health Canada's Dietary Reference Intakes</a></p>
Built using <a href="https://github.com/jlowin/fastmcp" target="_blank">FastMCP</a>
</p>
</div>
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