IMPACTS

Total jobs: Employ 40 + FTE

Yearly Farm Purchases: $2.14 million+

Number of Farms Sourced: 345+

Demographics of Farmers: ~10% farmers of color overall (compared to 3% state average)

HOW FOOD HUBS BUILD LOCAL FOOD MARKETS

Senior & Elder Feeding

Senior Food Programs

Seniors and the elderly suffer high rates of food insecurity and also represent a medically-vulnerable population. In partnership with local Agency on Aging programs and senior centers, food hubs can service seniors through nourishing food that fits their lifestyles and dietary requirements.

  • In partnership with their local Agency on Aging through Lumber Region Council of Government (COG), SAIC began providing fresh produce boxes to seniors that lived independently but needed food access support. COVID-19 dollars were used from the Agency on Aging to support this pilot. Overwhelming success of the program has led to additional opportunities and funding, and the food box program has expanded to multiple counties.

Local Food Promotion & Education

To effectively build local food markets, food hub work diligently to make local food desireable and accessable. Local food promotion programs take many forms, but commonly include Double-Up Bucks for SNAP/EBT consumers; nutrition education, recipe cards, and or cooking demonstrations; and more.

  • Feast Down East runs their Local Motive mobile farmers market twice a week, every other week. The mobile farmers market operation accepts SNAP/EBT or food stamps, as well as debit and cash, as forms of payment. In addition to participating in the Fresh Bucks program for SNAP/EBT customers. For each dollar a SNAP recipient withdraws from their account to spend on their purchase, they will be matched an additional dollar, for up to a total of $20 Fresh Bucks. The Local Motive Mobile Farmers Market additionally offers educational resources, recipes, taste testings, cooking demonstrations and health-based education to the wider mobile market community. The food hub ensures that the mobile market reaches the county's most food insecure residents, intentionally choosing to set up its markets at affordable housing complexes, senior centers, and the Boys and Girls Club.

Food as
Medicine

Food as medicine refers to projects and initatives that support healthy food as a solution to and prevention for diet-related diseases, compared to traditional methods of treatment. Food as Medicine projects link healthcare with healthy food access partners.

  • TRACTOR- Through TRACTOR's clinical referral program, various local health agencies refer clients to the food hub for healthy, fresh food. Referred clients are given a code to use at checkout on TRACTOR's online marketplace, Farefield. It is a win-win-win partnership for farmers, healthcare providers, and consumers.

Farmer Training

To access new markets, veteran and beginning farmers alike can benefit from training to keep abreast of new opportunities, rules and regulations, etc. Food hubs play a role in linking their farmers to educational resources and organizations, in addition to providing their own training and education resources.

  • Blue Ridge Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) program cultivates meaningful mentor relationships between aspiring and experienced farmers. Blue Ridge CRAFT connects aspiring farmers with experienced farmers and encourages innovative on-farm educational and professional experiences. Developed in 2014, the program has served over 100 farmers each year!

Farm to School

Farm to School refers to the institutional purchasing of fresh, local food by school districts. This strategy links schools and their students with local growers and provides robust opportunity for education.

  • Working Landscapes has developed their own brand of prepared food, called ByWay foods, to make fresh, local, healthy food easy and accessible. By chopping and bagging products like collards and sweet potatoes, Working Landscapes is able to service school districts where that little bit of processing goes a long way in the cafeteria! They are also formally a part of NCDA's Farm to School program, providing sweet potatoes for schools state-wide.

Direct Sales

Many food hubs sell directly to consumers and institutions through wholesale and retail sales. This can take the form of CSA programs, online marketplaces, or wholesale distribution lists.

  • Men and Women United have a unique direct-sales model that services local beach vacationers during the summer months. Through their Vacation Vittles CSA program, MWUYF works closely with Cooke Realty and local farmers to find and fulfill CSA orders. Produce bags are conveniently dropped off on-site at Cooke Realty locations. Furthermore, this project serves as a youth enrichment and leadership program! Youth Ambassadors take lead on packing produce bags and delivering to participating beaches, as well as doing additional direct sales at the beach during distribution days.

Community Fresh Food Access

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

  • Foothills Food Hub has built its new hub location around farmer support and community access and education. With wash lines for farmers, office space for social services and other commuinty resources, and a commerical kitchen, the food hub is more than just a place where food is aggregated and stored. As a project of the McDowell Local Food Advisory Council (McDowells 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.