Balancing Act: Regional Needs, Aspirational Goals, and the Business of Running a Food Hub October 24, 2024 Basin Food Summit and Expo, Nakusp Research Team Sarah-Patricia Breen, Selkirk College Lindsay Harris, UBCO & Kamloops Food Policy Council Damon Chouinard, Central Kootenay Food Policy Council Caitlin Quist, Selkirk College Presentation Overview • Introduction • • What is a Food Hub? Research Questions • Food Hubs: Looking Inward, Looking Ahead • • BC’s Food Hub Landscape • What are BC’s Food Hubs doing now? • What do Food Hub’s want to be doing? • What do communities need? • What are the tensions and challenges? Discussion What is a Food Hub? • “A business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers...” – National Food Hub Collaboration • “Grassroots, community-based organizations and individuals that work together to build increasingly socially just, economically robust and ecologically sound food systems that connect farmers with consumers” – Blay-Palmer • “Meeting the needs of small and “ag-of-the-middle” farmers who lack the capacity to meet the specific volume, quality, and consistency requirements of larger scale buyers" – USDA • “Entities that sit between people who produce food and people who use it, gathering food from growers and distributing it either to commercial customers or directly to consumers – often working with an explicit set of ethical priorities” – Guzman & Reynolds What is a Food Hub in BC? • In 2018/19 the BC Government began advancing the BC Food Hub Network • “Shared-use food and beverage processing facilities that offer food and agriculture businesses access to commercial processing space, equipment, expertise and resources to support business development and growth." - BC Min of Ag & Food • Unknowns about the emerging network of Food Hubs in BC • Role of hubs in regional food systems • Role of place in shaping hubs • Role of hubs in increasing resilience Research Project Purpose • Studying emergence of Alternative Agrifood and Seafood Networks • What roles do Food Hubs play within regional food systems? How do region specific conditions impact the ability of Food Hubs to be sustainable? What impact have major disturbances had? Resilience & Alternative Food Network Project Other Regional Studies BC Food Hub Study • • Research Approach 1. Participate in and track the evolution of the British Columbia Food Hub Community of Practice 2. Complete a detailed exploration of the role of two Food Hubs through interviews and document review 3. Explore regional food systems through food supply chain modelling 4. Compile and compare the results of 1-3 British Columbia’s Food Hub Landscape - 2023 What are Food Hubs doing now? • • • • • • • • Providing shared infrastructure, space, equipment Primary & secondary processing Reduced barriers to entry and upfront business startup costs Creating economies of scale Office space, space for events Product testing & research Aggregation & distribution Retail • • • • • • • • Business development, incubation, & scale up Community development Platform for relationship building and collaboration Sharing knowledge amongst entrepreneurs Business mentorship - formal and informal Increasing access to local foods Enabling institutional buying Economic stimulus There is variation across Food Hubs in current role What a Food Hub is, and its role is, has changed over time • • • • • • • Rural vs. Urban Business development vs. Community development Commercial kitchen vs. Processing kitchen Available equipment differs based on multiple factors Different levels of community interface and space type Hubs vary in their level of connection & engagement with farmers Serving businesses across the spectrum – large, established businesses to small start-ups • • • • • A necessary function of a Food Hub is trying to maintain its existence Responding to emergent business & community needs Responding to what is financially viable Growing & shifting from how they first defined themselves Growing & shifting from how the Ministry of Agriculture defined them What do Food Hubs want to do? • Increase access to local food • Value chain activities: o Agriculture extension, processing, and storage o Aggregation and distribution o Transportation and logistics o Access to retail and institutional markets • Disaster response activities: o Valuable community asset o Space that can pivot to meet need • Create resilient, alternative food systems A site of potential "...the bare bones of it is that it's a shared commercial kitchen. But it's just more expansive than that. It's like an emergent entity that is constantly shifting and evolving to just be positioned to act when we need it to act. To be a resource when we need it to be a resource. To be a community hub, when we need it to be a community hub. It is a complex network of relationships that is a true community resource. It is infrastructure that the community owns. And then it can be whatever we want it to be. " What do communities/regions need? Roles, Desires, and Needs Key Finding: The potential role of Food Hubs is significantly larger than the current reality. Why? Tensions in Reaching Potential • External pressures • Political pressures & expectations • Funder desires & limitations • Appropriate funding • • • Prioritizing financial sustainability (best business case) The expectation that food hubs will be financially self-sustaining Lack of core/operational funding Vs. • Internal pressures • Place-based needs • Local priorities • • Highly desired but non-revenue generating activities Need for investment • Costs of operating facilities • Costs that users can sustain • Competition • Collaboration • Traditional Economic Development • Community Economic Development & Food Security Challenges in Reaching Potential • Financial sustainability • Human capacity at Food Hubs • Attracting users to Food Hubs • Current and potential scale of agriculture and value added processing • Redundancy, replication, and gaps in related programs and actors • Navigating regulation & legislation Group Discussion • What are the gaps between what Food Hubs are currently doing and what communities / regions need and want? • Examples: services, infrastructure, equipment, geographic coverage • How do we bridge these gaps? • How can Food Hubs be sustainable in the long-term? o What is missing? o What can be done differently? o How are you changing your approach? Thank you! For more information visit: Contact Details: Sarah - sbreen@selkirk.ca Lindsay - lindsay@tapestryevaluation.com Damon - ed@ckfoodpolicy.ca