Food hubs partner with local community-based and faith-based organizations to get food where it is needed most. With grant funding, many provide produce boxes at free or reduced costs.
ENSURING COMMUNITY ACCESS TO FRESH FOOD
Member Spotlight
Sandhill AgInnovation Center’s Faith & Food Partnerships
Sandhills AgInnovation Center collaborates with over 20 faith-based partners across multiple counties to supply high-quality, nutrient-dense food to the community. Churches and other food access organizations operate like regular customers, purchasing food boxes when their food ministry budgets allow or receiving subsidized boxes from the food hub. SAIC also participates in the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s FarmsShare program, which funds SAIC and other food hubs to source local products at fair market value for distribution to those in need.
This partnership with the faith community significantly broadens the food hub's reach, allowing SAIC to concentrate on aggregating local food and supporting farmers. In turn, SAIC makes every effort to make local food the convenient option for all, ensuring food box drop-offs are convenient for the community partner and that food is culturally appropriate.
Member Spotlight
Foothill Food Hub’s ‘No Questions Asked’ Distributions
As a project of the McDowell Local Food Advisory Council (McDowell LFAC), the hub compliments the other food access projects of the Council. Foothills Food Hub partners with various food pantries in the area to deliver fresh, healthy food for distribution to their pantry clients and takes a leading role in ensuring all parts of the county are being served equitably. They offer drive-through, no-questions-asked distributions with local churches and home deliveries through McDowell Access to Care and Health (MATCH). Each household-sized food box is filled with shelf-stable goods, farmer produce, and farmer meat—at no cost.
