2018 ASHS Annual Conference

A food hub is a centralized physical location or online resource that brings together farmers and food buyers. As such, food hubs can take many forms, including processing facilities, distribution centers, retail or wholesale markets, and educational platforms. They benefit small and mid-sized producers by providing infrastructure and resources that may be unavailable to farmers on their own. Food hubs are most commonly located in larger urban and metropolitan areas to maximize accessibility for growers, buyers, and consumers. A food hub feasibility survey was conducted by OSU Extension Service Small Farms Program in partnership with the City of Salem in the mid-Willamette Valley. Salem is a city of 168,000 people and the second largest city in Oregon. The survey was conducted to determine small and mid-sized farmers’ interest in a potential food hub in a low income part of the city slated for urban renewal development. The first section of survey questions covered basic farm information and the second part focused on assessing farmer interest and determining specific requirements to participate in the project. Nineteen farmers were interviewed (7 certified organic, 12 nonorganic) and data were analyzed using one and two-way tables. Three quarters of the participants had heard the term food hub before the survey. Eighteen of the nineteen farmers interviewed were interested in participating in the food hub. All of the meat producers interviewed identified a USDA meat processing facility as the most helpful resource that a food hub could provide for them because of the lack of facilities in the region that will work with small producers. The top three concerns that both organic and nonorganic producers had about a food hub were: 1) prices would have to be set too low to justify participation, 2) possible lack of sufficient consumer demand for farm products, and 3) excessive competition from larger farms that would also participate in a food hub. Participants’ concern about a lack of consumer demand led them to request that the food hub provide community education about the value of buying local agricultural products. A higher percentage of organic (29%) than nonorganic (8%) farmers said the food hub was not necessary in the Salem area, citing their concern about a lack of demand for organic products. Establishing a food hub is a significant undertaking and assessing farmer, consumer and buyer interest through preliminary feasibility surveys is essential.