Mission:

The Local Food Hub is a privately funded non-profit service organization. Our mission is to strengthen and secure the future of a healthy regional food supply by providing small local farmers with concrete services that support and advance their economic vitality and promote stewardship of the land. We know that the best way to preserve farmland is to help make it profitable. With the Local Food Hub, farmers will save time and money through access to reliable, on-the-ground production, transportation, storage and marketing services that will strengthen the competitiveness and profitability of small farms. We know that what we eat and where it comes from is important to our environmental, physical, and economic health. By supporting our small farmers and food producers we are helping to secure the future of our food, our culture and our agricultural heritage.

Services:

Planning Support for Growers

At the beginning of each season, representatives from the Local Food Hub will hold meetings with buyers and growers. From these meetings, the Local Food Hub will develop a record of buyer demand, which will inform grower planting and pricing requirements. This guidance will help small farmers develop a working business model.

Food System Networking

The Local Food Hub will compile a database of organizations and citizens involved in food system issues. We will facilitate community connections in order to accomplish concrete local food system goals by organizing the wealth of our citizens' knowledge and enthusiasm for local food. The Local Food Hub will work with local professionals and small farmers to develop sustainable business plans.

Rentable Refrigeration & Freezer Storage Space

There is great demand from farmers and institutions to store additional product that they do not have space for in their facilities. This will help enable volume purchasing and year-round product availability. We will also explore the feasibility of offering an outfitted meat-curing storage unit in order to support value-added cured meat production.

Liability and Trace-ability Coverage

The Local Food Hub will comply with food safety regulations and therefore offer insurance coverage and clear trace-ability that many small farmers find too expensive.

Delivery and Consolidation Services 

The Local Food Hub will have a refrigerated truck that picks up from farmers at central locations in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District. Hub staff will consolidate products and food donations and deliver to buyers and charitable organizations, saving farmers the time and gas it takes to deliver to many small accounts, while at the same time addressing the volume requirements from larger buyers.

Processing Facilities (Phase 2)

Any acceptable produce that cannot be sold fresh will have the capacity to be preserved through basic cooking or freezing. This will increase the yield potential on farms and get more locally grown food into the food system. With the growth of this organization we will add a canning, bottling and labeling line to provide full co-packing services.