SFPC's Food Hub Project

Despite being located so close to the rich agricultural resources of the Pioneer Valley, Springfield residents often do not have access to fresh, healthy, and culturally appropriate foods. The Springfield Food Policy Council is exploring the possibility of creating a regional food hub as a way to support farms throughout Western Massachusetts and bring fresh, local produce to wholesale consumers like schools, hospitals, and community organizations. The food hub would benefit local farms by connecting them to new and expanded sales channels, and benefit communities like Springfield that suffer from inequitable access to fresh, healthy food.

This project is still in the early planning stages, but check back here for more updates!

What is a food hub?

A food hub aggregates locally grown and produced food in one location. Produce is collected from farmers around the region and delivered to wholesale customers looking for fresh, healthy food. In this way, it becomes possible for farmers to work together to meet the growing demand for local, sustainable food in our area. Farmers benefit from the marketing, selling, packaging and delivering of their produce, which continues to identify their farm as the source, and are able to collectively become competitive in a market system that works to benefit large agribusinesses. 

Connecting farmers to food providers during the COVID-19 pandemic

From the Food Policy Network: What are examples of programs or models that are connecting farmers with surplus produce or looking for alternative markets due to the closure of restaurants with emergency or supplemental food providers?
  • COVID-19 Institutional Matchmaking: food, distribution, storage, labor- Based on a spreadsheet developed by the Food Institution of New England, this google doc can be used to summarize and share information to coordinate surplus resources.
  • #EssentialFarmers: The #EssentialFarmers project is actively working to identify the needs of our local farms and bring together individuals to become an essential part of our future’s food system. The Project is reaching out to small and medium-sized farms to learn about their needs and building a network of people who are interested in becoming an Essential Farm worker or volunteer.
  • FoodRecovery Network: The FRN is a collection of matchmakers and facilitators focused on recovering food that would otherwise go to waste. This network helps food businesses establish food recovery programs to donate their surplus food to hunger-fighting nonprofit organizations. They offer a verification to businesses that donate their surplus product, rather than tossing it in the trash. In response to COVID-19, FRN created forms for food donors to signal when they have surplus product, and another form for hunger-fighting nonprofit organizations that details what food they can accept. Their Food Recovery Guide is also a useful for business leaders about how to set up a food recovery program on their own.