Food Hubs Research Articles

Moving from Good to Great: Increasing Healthy Food Access in the Faith-Based Community through Food Hubs

Moving from Good to Great: Increasing Healthy Food Access in the Faith-Based Community through Food Hubs

Kitchen as food hub: adaptive food systems governance in the City of Toronto

This paper discusses how the Toronto Food Policy Council (TFPC) and Toronto Food Strategy (TFS), as part of the municipal government of Toronto, work to facilitate a number of community food and food systems initiatives. We use the example of community kitchens to illustrate how their work facilitates access to community space around the city and, in the process, supports the creation of food hubs. Outcomes of this discussion are twofold: we identify community kitchens as current and potential food hubs, and speak to their capacity to promote a myriad of community benefits and address some aspects of community food insecurity. As well, by offering an account of the work of the TFPC and TFS in facilitating access to increased kitchen space, we highlight efforts of inter-scalar urban organising and adaptive food systems governance.

Complexity and food hubs: five case studies from Northern Ontario

This paper reports findings from the Northern region of a province-wide initiative aimed at better understanding local food hubs in communities throughout the province of Ontario. Drawing on case studies of five key hubs in the emerging Northern local food system, we explore from the theoretical framework of complex adaptive systems theory the emergence and development of each hub as they collectively give shape to a regional local food system. This analysis focuses on the four phases of the adaptive cycle which describes the typical developmental sequence of complex systems and reveals how they emerge, self-organise, adapt to change and harness innovation for new cycles of growth within the shadow of the dominant food system.

Visualising community-based food projects in Ontario

In seeking to help address the question about what is distinctive about “alternative” food networks and “food hubs” in particular, this paper explores the strengths and limitations of using concept-mapping software to illustrate the organisational structures of community-based food projects in Ontario. As part of a larger research project, the authors developed concept maps that illustrate inputs, activities and assets, as well as different types of resources (public, private, citizen, etc.). This paper focuses on the benefits and challenges of choosing to share research results with the use of a visual tool, including the benefits of the process of our mapping exercise for the research team, for the research participants, and for dialogue among them all. Challenges include the difficulties of balancing nuance and uniformity, as well as complexity and simplicity, while visually representing networks that often blur the lines between governmental, public, non-profit, cooperative, multi-stakeholder and private.

Local Food Plus: the connective tissue in local/sustainable supply chain development

Local Food Plus (LFP) is a non-governmental organisation that blurs the lines between traditional community and private sector functions by creating space for buyers and sellers to meet; building trust among diverse food-system actors; and creating new markets for goods. This article uses a participatory action research method to explore these functions in detail. The first section examines how LFP has both emerged from a community of food practice and in turn become a pivot in creating new communities of practice within values-based food chains. The second section identifies and analyses the diversity of tools that have proven essential to LFP's model. The third section examines how LFP has contributed to alternative norm construction by balancing various conventions. Finally, the fourth section explains LFP's engagement with the state and other “strange bedfellows” to advance change, to ultimately comment on LFP's role in fostering food hub development.

Field of dreams: just food's proposal to create a community food and sustainable agriculture hub in Ottawa, Ontario

As groups within civil society seek to advance discursive constructs of food security, social justice and sustainability through concrete, on-the-ground projects, they challenge the economic, social and ecological status quo. This paper will evaluate Just Food's proposal to create a Community Food and Sustainable Agriculture Hub in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, through the lens of Gibson-Graham's alternative/community economy and politics of possibility, and will argue that Just Food cultivates the emergence of new social and economic relations, even as their activities are constrained by and interwoven with neoliberal market logic. The introduction will provide the substantive context, methodological and conceptual approach. It is followed by an outline of the case study that will establish the conditions within which this project proposal emerged, and detail some of the challenges that have been overcome to date. The conclusion will demonstrate the food hub's alignment with Gibson-Graham's concepts of alternative/community economy and politics of possibility.

FDI in Retail Trade in an Emerging Global Food Hub: Possible Consequences

The debate on allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in India’s retail trade primarily focuses on two issues – employment and consumer welfare. Supporters of this move have developed consumer centric arguments while the opponents are more concerned with its adverse impact on employment. This paper tries to highlight the issue from the perspectives of long term food security and systematic transfer of valuable natural resources like fertile land and water, through virtual mode, to developed word. Fertile land and renewable water sources of the farmers will be used, like womb and blood of a surrogate mother, by the transnational retailers.

Are these food products fraudulent? Rapid and novel triplex-direct PCR assay for meat identification

Unintentional contamination and fraudulent labeling of food, especially in halal-certified products, breach both religious and international laws. DNA-based methods are widely employed to identify trace amount of contaminants for law enforcement. Direct PCR has proved successful in the DNA analysis from degraded samples and PCR-inhibited samples, but it has never been applied to meat identification from food products. In this study, we aimed to develop a multiplex direct PCR assay for simultaneous identification of three commonly consumed meats without the need to extract DNA. Species-specific primers were designed from the mitochondrial DNA using the alignment of sequences available on GenBank. The assay was validated for its specificity, sensitivity, and usefulness in market sample analysis. The results showed that a highly specific and sensitive multiplex direct PCR assay was developed and provided the expected PCR fragment of approximately 100, 119, and 133bp for pork (Sus scrofa), mutton (Ovis aries), and chicken (Gallus gallus), respectively. Thirty-nine market samples were tested and a small number of fraudulent labeling was detected. In conclusion, we developed a rapid and inexpensive test for three meat species. This cost- and time-saving assay could be easily adopted in the world food hubs, which are mostly third-world countries.

Social Cognitive Theory as a Framework for Considering Farm to School Programming

Farm to School (FTS) programs are designed, in part, to improve childhood health and nutrition and may be implemented as a strategy to prevent childhood obesity. FTS programs have largely emerged out of grassroots efforts, and theory has not explicitly guided program development or implementation. This research considers the effectiveness of social cognitive theory (SCT) as a framework for FTS programming. In 2010, a survey was administered to 632 elementary schoolchildren in Vermont. Six indices were developed from 46 variables that measured personal characteristics and experiences with regard to fruits and vegetables, as described in the SCT. These indices were the basis for cluster analysis, which identified three distinct clusters. Bivariate analysis showed significant differences among the clusters in the children’s likelihood of meeting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). The significant differences observed among the clusters suggest that SCT is an appropriate framework within which FTS interventions may be considered. The findings show that there are distinct food-related attitudes and behaviors that differ widely by the SCT informed clusters and that can be used to inform FTS programs.

Rural Cooperatives Magazine, July/August 2012

Features - Disasters spur co-op formations; New life for a lifeline; Co-op oil mills play vital role in sustaining cottonseed value; Creating a roadmap for food hub development; Co-op leaders confer with White House officials; C-FARE meeting shows progress made in co-op goals, values; Can co-ops help drive global recovery?; CCA salutes those who excel at telling the co-op story; Midwest co-op centers share strategies at regional roundtable

Planners Coming to the Table

Planners Coming to the Table

Toward a More Expansive Understanding of Food Hubs

A review of the uses of the term reveals a dynamic and evolving concept. Since planners need to understand these various uses, we offer a preliminary framework for a food hub typology. We also suggest attributes and a definition that should be considered when assessing existing sites and planning for new food hubs. We then assess three food hub sites in Seattle, Washington, using our typology and characteristics that should be considered (audience, ownership, purpose, design and siting, and scale). Our assessment demonstrates that the strengths, viability, and vitality of each food hub are derived from attributes not currently considered by the most commonly used, type-focused definitions of food hubs. Our contribution adds clarity to the evolving discussion about food hubs, and describes elements for communities, particularly the planning community, to consider when planning for them.

Increasing Farm Income and Local Food Access: A Case Study of a Collaborative Aggregation, Marketing, and Distribution Strategy That Links Farmers to Markets

As consumer interest in locally grown food increases, farmers and organizations are working on inventive ways to supply fresh and affordable local food to residents. The Intervale Center, a nonprofit in Burlington, Vermont, partnered with small and midscale farmers to create the Intervale Food Hub, a collaborative of staff and farmers that aggregates, markets, and distributes local products through both a multifarm community supported agriculture (CSA) program and wholesale. Informed by surveys conducted to assess supply and demand in the region, the Food Hub provides businesses, restaurants, retailers, institutions, and individuals with year-round access to a diverse mix of fresh and value-added local food. The Intervale Center serves as a local distributor, purchasing products from up to 30 farmers and coordinating packaging, marketing, distribution, and business operations. Year-round, shared space is available to conduct business operations, including packaging and short-term storage. After three years of operation, the Food Hub has begun exploring ownership structures and geographic expansion. Using a participatory action research approach, this case study reviews the enterprise's development and outcomes. We provide a qualitative assessment of farmer and staff perceptions of successful practices and limitations, and conclude with recommendations for future research.

Unity Food Hub: Creating New Opportunities for Local Farms

Unity, Maine, as described in this case study, has grown into a “food hub,” as defined by the USDA. With support from the Maine Farmland Trust, a number of local development options are being explored.

Rural Cooperatives Magazine, May/June 2011

Features- Virtual food hub help Virginia producers tap into local food markets; Switchgrass plant switches on; USDA program helps offset cost of flex-fuel pump installation; Co-ops for caregivers; Tanzanian dairy farmers and co-ops benefit from USDA, Land O' Lakes help; Breeding a merger; Cooperation on tap; Long-term trends show co-ops relying less on member equity while use of debt increasing; Ostrander co-op joins century club

Rural Cooperatives Magazine, November/December 2010

Features - Going Mobile; Illinois Green Pastures Fiber Cooperative; Not just a job, but a future; Cooperative Food Hubs; Why the asset-building movement matters for rural co-op members; Fifth Season Cooperative; Co-op Month celebrated at USDA

Malaysia as an International Halal Food Hub: Competitiveness and Potential of Meat‑based Industries

As outlined in the Third National Agricultural Policy (NAP3), there is a need to enhance competitiveness and to increase value-addedness to the whole supply chain as well as to position Malaysia as an international halal food hub. This seems to be a noble idea but the paper argues that its implementation as a national policy must still be critically assessed and evaluated as it has far-reaching implications for the national economy. This paper discusses the concepts and trends related to supply chains and then relates it to several possible “hub” concepts that is relevant to Malaysia’s policy to become an international halal food hub. The paper then provides an overview of the domestic halal meat industry, including its present structure, major companies, achievement of food safety, quality and halal certification and major issues faced by the industry. It then discusses the potentials of global meat products. Finally, brief policy considerations are discussed.