If you’re not quite sure what a food hub is, you’re in good company! Food hubs can be set up a number of different ways, and provide a lot of different services for local food producers and communities.
A good, broad definition for Food Hubs in Oregon is:
“Business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail and institutional demand.”
Working with food hubs can be beneficial for small farmers as food hubs often create local market opportunities for producers who aren’t well positioned to take advantage of larger wholesale markets. They often also provide other services for local food producers like equipment rentals, storage space, and trainings.
Oregon Coast spotlight
The Central Coast Food Web (CCFW) is a food hub located in Newport that works primarily with local fishers, farmers and consumers in Lincoln County. It provides processing facilities and business development support to its producer members, and runs a monthly online local food marketplace where local food producers can sell their products.
Gibson Farms produces beef and blueberries in Siletz and is one of the local food producers that takes advantage of its many services. Lorissa Fujishin of Gibson Farms started out selling products in the Central Coast Food Web monthly market. "That has always gone smoothly," she said.
Then she started taking advantage of the trainings the food hub offers — from forklift training to taking photographs of food products. "They have equipment at the food hub that’s designed for taking good marketing photos of food products, and now I can rent and use that equipment to take photos of my farm products," Fujishin said.
Working with the Central Coast Food Web has also made it possible for her to work on a value-added product: beef jerky. The food hub offers facilities and staff support for product development. Fujishin also stores some of their products through the food hub. "I don’t have the capacity to store all of my product at my farm throughout the year, so having access to cold storage has made a difference!" Fujishin said.
"Working with CCFW has changed the possibilities of what I can do myself."
How has working with food hub changed the Gibson Farms' farm and/or farm business? Fujishin says they usually do seasonal beef sales from the farm, and didn't do farmers markets or have an off-farm market before working with Central Coast Food Web.
"The food hub provided a market I hadn’t been part of before, which has given us additional exposure in the community," Fujishin said. "Working with CCFW has changed the possibilities of what I can do myself."
Instead of having to outsource the development of the value-added product, Fujishin can do it locally.
Central Coast Food Web’s mission statement states that it is "strengthening our local, coastal and regional food systems by providing services and support to small, independent food producers and making it easier for all people to eat local food."
As a local farmer, Fujishin finds the people at the food hub incredibly helpful and willing to facilitate what a local farmer wants to do, from marketing to production.
"The only thing you need to be able to get started working with them is an idea," Fujishin said. "They will work with you to figure out what you need to do and how you need to do it."
This can include what certifications you need if you want to develop a value-added product. Or they can connect you with your packing space if you already have your recipe and are ready to go, she adds.
"It can be intimidating to feel like you need to approach a food hub with everything already in place, but that’s not the case with CCFW," said Fujishin, who worked with them at every stage of the process.
You can learn more about what it means to be a Central Coast Food Web member and how to become one, as well as how to list your products on their online marketplace. See on the ‘For Producers’ section of their website.
Feeling inspired?
Interested in exploring working with a local or regional food hub? Since every food hub is different, it’s a good idea to think through how you’d like to work with a food hub:
- Are you looking for new markets?
- Storage space?
- Product development support?
Reach out to a hub you’re interested in working with to see what they offer and how you might work best together. This map provides a list of many of the food hubs supporting local food systems in Oregon. Many food hubs work with farmers and food producers outside of the county they’re located in, so if there’s not a food hub in your county, don’t be afraid to look further afield!
