Regional Food Hubs Assessing Community Impacts Nicole Tichenor, M.S. Friedman Fellows’ Symposium November 17, 2012 Graphic source: Barham et al. 2012
What is a Regional 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 to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demand” -- National Food Hub Collaboration ≈ 170 across the country
Why Regional Food Hubs? National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2007
Why Regional Food Hubs? Increasing demand for local foods – Local food sales: $4.8 billion (2008) to $7 billion (2011) (USDA ERS 2011) – 34% of School Food Authorities purchase local and 22% are considering doing so (School Nutrition Association 2009)
Food Hub Examples
Impact Assessment USDA Agriculture Marketing Service Food hub impact assessment tool – Economic, environmental, social impacts – Supply chain approach – Track internal progress and compare against other hubs – Self-administered
Process Compile “indicator inventory” Design 4-part assessment tool – Suppliers, hubs, consumer buyers, wholesale buyers Pilot Refine tool and release
Example Questions Farmers: – “ Have you diversified the products you grow as a result of working with the hub?” (y/n) Hubs: – “Does the hub donate food locally?” (y/n) “If YES, how many pounds last fiscal year?” Consumers: – “Has your household increased the amount you spend on locally-produced food per month by buying through the food hub?” (y/n and follow up question)
Future Research Agenda Research to date has been limited More quantitative data and evaluation are needed Healthy food access: what we know – Sell to variety of markets – 47% report distributing in food deserts (Barham et al. 2012) – Innovative programming
Future Research Agenda Reach and quality of food hub healthy food access programs Impacts of programs on consumption Price comparisons (farm-gate and retail) across supply chain arrangements
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