Webinar Review: "Food Hubs: Viable Regional Distribution Solutions"

Coordinator: National Good Food Network
http://ngfn.org/resources/ngfn-cluster-calls/food-hubs-viable-regional-distribution-solutions/webinar

Food Hub Definition
- "A centrally located facility with a business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, and/or marketing of locally/regionally produced food products."
- Core components: 1) Aggregation/Distribution- Wholesale, 2) Active Coordination, 3) Permanent Facilities
- Many different types of models: 1) Non-profit. 2) Producer/entrepreneur, 3) Retail driven, 4) Consumer driven (online buying clubs), 5) "Hybrid" market model (wholesale/retail), 6) "Virtual" Food Hubs (online matchmaking platforms)
- Hubs have goal of working with small size farmers/producers

Supply Chain vs. Value Chain
Transaction vs. Relationship
Short-term vs. Long-term
Commodity vs. Highly differentiated products
Communication only with next step vs Transparency & Communication throughout
"Everyone for themselves" vs. "We're in this together"

Pricing
- Prices set in wholesale market
- Provides opportunity for processing to reduce high-low price risk

Funders' Perspective
Existing Foundations
New Philanthropists
Opportunities
USDA: Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG), Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG), Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP)

How to start
- Definitely need a business plans
- Be weary of buyers (requires building relationships)
- Investors, start-up capital
- Requires more than $300,000 (compare to Local Food Hub)
- Best legal model: majority non-profit or partnered with non-profit, multi-stakeholder co-ops (producer, processors and buyers) dependent on mission and funding streams
- Logistics software (Local Orbit, etc.)
- Personal connections are important for upsale

Resources:
** http://www.ngfn.org/resources/food-hubs
https://sites.google.com/site/mgfwpublic/conference-resources
http://localfoodhub.org/our-food/how-we-work-with-buyers/
http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com/

Hawaii Food Issues

I have become a member of the Hawaii Food Council list serve which seems to have amassed the truly passionate parties and citizens. In an effort to address real concerns I will list and summarize various concerns heard on this list serve and maintain a list of activist, not commercially-oriented, stakeholders ....

Issues
Access to (Local Food) Food
- Jim Hollyer posted article (http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Localized-food-production-should-be-a-strategy-not-a-goal-says-UCSB-professor/?c=71VcYO0ZfgUbRVmcA%2FsJaQ%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily) on May 20, 2011, at 7:51 AM pointing out that grown local does not always mean consumed locally. In the end making the point, localization is a strategy for a larger goal, not the actual end in of itself.

What is "Food"?
- Kim Coffee-Isaak widened the scope on Jim's article on May 20, 2011, at 12:30 PM by pointing out that when people talk about localization they are mostly talking about fruits and vegetables, but "Food" goes much more beyond this to include dairy and animal proteins.
- Hawaii needs to "grow all the food for a complete nutritional picture locally" including rice according Melanie Bondera to on May 20, 2011, at 4:01 PM. This would also need to include the dairy and animal proteins stated above.

Food Security
- George Kent states on May 20, 2011 6:58:41 PM that it is not feasible or wise to grow all necessary foods for complete nutrition locally, but to have a diverse array of food sources.\
- Stuart Scott rebutted on Fri, 20 May 2011 22:55:48 that "Food security must include a greater ability to produce more of our food locally."


Important Agricultural Lands (IALs)


GMOs

Activist Stakeholders
http://www.kohalacenter.org/

Staying on top of news...

In my ongoing effort to describe Hawaii's food distribution system, 1) The Weekly, 2) the Star Advertiser, 3) Hawaii Business News, 4) Pacific Business News. Another blog post will be started for national issues. Other sources may be referenced, but not monitored on a regular basis. Stories will be blogged about on an on-going basis, but to build a foundation all sources will be checked at least to the beginning of 2011.

Entry format: Headline - Author Source
Primary Publication Date (Publication)
Other publications: Author- (alternative take)
Objectives:
Results and conclusions:
Assumptions
References?
Meet stated objectives? Criticisms?

Impact on field of food distribution environmental or nutritional impacts?
Opinion

Source descriptions/Monitoring policy:
1) The Weekly
2) the Star Advertiser
3) Hawaii Business News
4) Pacific Business News