Beyond the Business Plan:
Building Food Hubs for
Resilient Local Food Systems
From Idea to Day-to-Day Operations

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Beyond the Business Plan is a resource
designed for organizations that are, or want to
contribute to a more resilient, equitable, and
sustainable local food system. This is not a
step-by-step, linear planning guide. Rather, it
offers practical insights for planning,
implementing, evaluating and sustaining a
food hub in a way that is grounded in place
and responsive to the needs of local food
systems. The guide includes worksheets, case
studies, and links to other resources.

Education,
Knowledge
Sharing & Skill
Development
Local
Community-led
Food Waste
Economic
Retail
Reduction
Development Building
Aggregation,
Connections
Storage,
Along the
Distribution
Supply
A more
Chain
Healthy,
Building
Food
Sustainable
&
Networks
Processing
Equitable Food
System
Product
Local Food
Development
Access
& Testing
Other
Localized
Issues &
Needs

Food
Sovereignty

Supporting
Farmers

Community
Development

Social &
Economic
Forces

Adapted from Levkoe et al., 2018. Building
sustainable food systems through food hubs:
Practitioner and academic perspectives.
Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and
Community Development, 8(2), 107–122.

Broad Focus:
Social &
Ecological
Justice

Narrow Focus:
Supply Chain
Diverse Pathways to Effect
Change in the Food System

OVERVIEW

Food Hub Functions & Goals

Food hubs may shift along the
continuum in a fluid manner

PLAN

IMPLEMENT

EVALUATE

SUSTAIN

Understanding and
actively engaging the
people, organizations,
and communities
that make up your
local food ecosystem
in order to clarify your
vision and model.

Moving from plans
into action, and
building the systems
that let the hub
function day to day.

Helping you
understand your work
and support decisionmaking.

Building a food hub
that can adapt, thrive,
and continue creating
value over the long
term.

KEY INSIGHTS
Build from community, not from scratch. Build on existing efforts, connect people who are already
active, and focus on meeting the biggest gaps. Acting as a connector and nurturing relationships is
more important than creating flashy infrastructure. Keep your definition of a food hub focused on
your community's needs and assets, without being so narrow it limits possibilities.
Think regionally and strategically. Consider your hub’s place in the bigger picture. Understanding
what’s happening in neighbouring regions can help you identify a niche or specialization that adds
value, avoids duplication, and strengthens regional food system connections.
Strengthen local food systems. Ensure food is grown, transformed, and sold within the region, by
prioritizing supporting value-added production such as small-scale butchery, seasonal preserves, or
processing tailored to local produce (including the option of the hub offering value-added processing
as a service for producers that aren’t able to do it themselves). Support regional distribution and
logistics by collaborating with nearby distributors, storage providers, and logistics companies that
already operate in the region.
Build the case for investment. Strengthen your hub’s long-term stability by showing how it
contributes to community priorities—food security, local jobs, and resilience. Early relationships with
local government and partners set the stage for ongoing support and investment.
Balance financial viability and operational stability. Financial viability means having reliable,
diverse revenue streams; operational stability means having the people, systems, and structures to
manage the work effectively. Sustainable hubs intentionally build both.
It’s okay to slow down and change course. Timelines, funding requirements, and bureaucratic
pressures can be negotiated or adjusted. Don’t feel forced to follow systems that don’t work for you—
take the time needed to build a thoughtful, sustainable hub.
Click here to access the guide. Click here to access the project webpage.
This summary draws on research supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Common Ground Network
McLean, Quist, Henderson, Breen, Harris, & Chouinard, 2025