Politics and Pet Rocks: The Evolution of Regional Food Hubs in British Columbia Canada and its Implications for Food Policy Special Session: Territorialized Agri -Food Systems for Inclusion, Innovation, and Sustainability RSA Annual Conference Porto, Portugal May 8, 2025 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 Overview 01 The Overarching Challenge 02 Knowledge Gap 03 Research Questions & Methods 04 What is a Food Hub? 05 Current and Desired Food Hub Roles 06 How do Food Hub roles match what is needed? 07 Where is the disconnect between what is and what is needed? 08 Where does this leave us? The Overarching Challenge Sustains the livelihoods of producers Policy Fragmentation Entrenched Control Systems Concentrated Power Long & complex supply chain Food System Status Quo Protects the natural environment Sufficient, appropriate & accessible food Resilient Food System Knowledge Gap: Role of Alternative Food Networks? • Range of initiatives • Goal to create shorter, relationship -oriented supply chains that link small -scale farmers, fishers, harvesters, and value-added processors directly to consumers communities, and institutional buyers • Food Hubs are one example of AFN Research Question and Methods Goal: to exploreFoodHubsin British Columbiaand the roles they play in resilient food systems Objective 1: Map the evolution of the BC Food Hub Community of Practice Objective 3: Explore select food hubs and their contribution within their regional food systems Objective 2: Explore the evolution and resilience of regional food systems Objective 4: Cross case comparison What is a Food Hub? A mo re He a lthy, S us ta ina ble & Equita ble Fo o d S ys te m Fo o d Wa s te Re d uc tio n Build ing Ne tworks Loc a l Ec onomic De ve lop me nt Educ a tion, Knowle dg e S ha ring & S kill De ve lopme nt Othe r Loc a lize d Is s ue s & Ne e ds Community De ve lop me nt Prod uc t De ve lop me nt & Te s ting S up p orting Community-le d Fa rme rs Re ta il Build ing Ag g re g a tion, Conne c tions S tora g e , Along the Dis trib ution S up p ly Cha in Food Proc e s s ing Loc a l Food Ac c e s s Food S ove re ig nty Social & Ec onomic Forc e s Broad Focus: Social & Ecological Justice Narrow Focus: Supply Chain Dive rs e Pa thwa ys to Effe c t Cha ng e in the Food S ys te m Food hub s ma y s hift a long the c ontinuum in a fluid ma nne r Adapted from Levkoe et. al. 2018 What is a Food Hub in BC? “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 Narrow Focus: Supply Chain A more He a lthy, S us ta ina ble & Equita ble Food S ys te m Fo o d Wa s te Re d uc tio n Build ing Ne tworks Loc a l Ec onomic De ve lop me nt Othe r Loc a lize d Is s ue s & Ne e ds Educ a tion, Kno wle d g e S ha ring & S kill De ve lo p me nt Community-le d Re ta il Build ing Conne c tions Along the S up p ly Cha in Community De ve lop me nt Prod uc t De ve lop me nt & Te s ting S up p orting Fa rme rs Ag g re g a tion, S tora g e , Dis trib ution Food Proc e s s ing Loc a l Food Ac c e s s Food S ove re ig nty Social & Economic Forc e s Broad Focus: Social & Ecological Justice BC Food Hubs *Supported *Not Supported Dive rs e Pa thwa ys to Effe c t Cha ng e in the Food S ys te m Food hubs ma y s hift a long the c ontinuum in a fluid ma nne r Adapted from Levkoe et. al. 2018 Food Hubs in BC: Current Roles The most common two roles are: Providing shared infrastructure Supporting food businesses However, many others exist • Reduced barriers to entry and upfront business startup costs • Creating economies of scale • Product testing & research • Aggregation & distribution • Retail • Community development • Platform for relationship building and collaboration • Sharing knowledge amongst entrepreneurs • Increasing access to local foods • Enabling institutional buying • Economic stimulus Food Hubs in BC: Desired Roles Create resilient local food systems Value chain development Disaster response activities • Valuable community asset that can pivot to meet needs • Agriculture processing, and storage • Aggregation and distribution • Transportation and logistics • Access to retail and institutional markets Increase access to local food How do Food Hub roles match what is needed? What prevents Food Hubs from reaching their aspirations? Challenges Desires • Political pressures & expectations • Funder desires & limitations • Costs of operating facilities • Competition • Lack of appropriate funding • Prioritizing financial sustainability (best business case) • The expectation that food hubs will be financially self-sustaining • Limited operational capacity • Traditional economic development • Place-based needs • Local priorities Vs. • Costs that users can sustain • Collaboration • Highly desired but non-revenue generating activities • Investment and stable income • Community Economic Development & Food Security Key Finding: narrow focus on commercial processing creates a disconnect with regional needs Waste Reduction Commercial Processing & Shared Infrastructure Value Chain Development Regional & Community Development Sector Specific Business Supports Increasing Access to Local Food Aggregation & Distribution Broader Region Immediate Region Community Food Hub Farms & Businesses What does this mean for the regional food landscape? • Overlap in some service delivery​ • Gaps in availability and accessibility of other services​ • Variable relationships between organizations​ • Missed opportunities Food Hubs remain vulnerable sites of untapped 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.” - Interview participant​ Where does this leave us? Food Hub Practitioners • Explore diverse pathways to financial sustainability​ • Expand potential roles at the right pace​ • Prioritize collaboration​ • Be based in place​ Decisionmaker & Policy Makers • Make strategic and integrated investments ​ • Listen to local needs to guide the vision ​ • Enable collaboration​ Researchers • AFNs often struggle to survive, yet not long after their demise, tend to resurface, likely due to the fact that the needs that bring them into existence are strong and unwavering, yet also at direct odds with the dominant food system. • Participatory research approaches can support communities with finding pathways through these tensions. Thank you! For more information visit: Contact Details: Sarah- sbreen@selkirk.ca