Two Rivers Food Hub Cultivating Connections for Local Food
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Two Rivers Food Hub
Cultivating Connections for Local Food
What is a Food Hub?
There are hundreds of food hubs and no two are exactly alike, but the accepted definition is this:
“A regional food hub is a business or organization that
actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demand.”
Our Staff and Board • Peter McKenna, Chair- Rideau Community Health Services, Merrickville • Bill Dobson, Vice-Chair - Reeve Montague Twsp, Beef Farmer • Robert Argue, Secretary - ecoPerth, Perth • Dave Smith, Treasurer - Beef Farmer, MBA, Ashton • Jane Graham - Investors Group, Merrickville • Cheryl Nash - ecoPerth, Perth • Meghan Pettipas - co-owner, Dandelion Foods, Almonte • Shannon Miller - Farmer, Miller’s Farm Fresh, Rideau Ferry • Chenoa Marshall - Farmer, Sylvan’s Edge Farm, Tay Valley Twsp • Staff: 4 full time employees including General Manager, Bruce Enloe,
former chef/owner of The Branch Restaurant
Catchment Area Our original catchment is the
counties of Lanark, Leeds and Grenville. However, it was clear to us early on that what was needed was a regional service. Smiths Falls is a central location that allows us to work with producers and buyers in our catchment as well as in Kingston, Ottawa, Frontenac, Renfrew and Stormant, Dundas and Glengarry.
The Gallipeau Centre Formerly the Rideau Regional Facility, a long term residential mental health institution; The Food Hub is housed in kitchens designed to prepare 10,000 meals per day. The existing infrastructure saved tens of thousands of dollars in set up costs and our footprint currently includes over 11,500 square feet of space for our kitchens, offices, vegetable processing areas, as well as cold, frozen, humidity controlled and dry storage.
What is the Two Rivers Food Hub?
1. A grassroots, board run not-for-profit social enterprise to support local farmers
2. Active Coordination: Hub business management team that actively coordinates local food value chain logistics, including seeking markets for producers, and coordinating efforts with distributors, processors, and buyers.
3. A physical location that includes 5 core services.
What we offer - 5 Core Services:
1. Commercial Kitchen Rentals
2. Wholesale Aggregation/Distribution
3. Local Food Basket
4. Agricultural Storage, Packaging and Processing
5. Value Chain Co-ordination
Commercial Kitchen Rentals:
Fully Equipped and Health Unit Approved:
10 preparation zones available to rent with multiple appliances, shared tools, smallwares, janitorial, dishwashing, packaging, bottling and labeling options.
Wholesale Aggregation & Distribution: After completing a one year
pilot in partnership with Wendy’s Mobile Market; we officially began distributing independently in July 2016.
We now have over 100 restaurant and retail buyers on our list and distribute on behalf of more than 50 producers, processors and co-ops.
Our first Rental Truck! June 29, 2016
Local Foods Basket:
Local Foods Basket has expanded markets for more than 24 small, local farms and sold 79 shares for summer 2016 season.
Our online ordering system now allows us to include grocery additions and even some products processed at the Food Hub.
Agricultural Storage, Packaging and Processing:
We have over 16,000 cubic feet of combined humidity controlled ‘root cellar’ cold storage and freezer storage. We are almost full for our first full winter 2016-17!
Value Chain Coordination:
1. Workshops, summits and farmer training sessions: over 200 attended in first year.
2. Connecting point for buyers and sellers. 3. Networking through region to stay up to
date with latest services and programs.
History of the Two Rivers Food Hub ● November 2012: Meeting held by Lanark Local Flavours (ecoPerth) entitled “Stirring
the Pot” in Attending were 100 producers, buyers, processors, municipal leaders and funders. Called “Exploring Opportunities in Our Local Food Sector” this was a meeting held to discuss the issues facing the local food sector in Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Counties. A number of sub initiatives were born out of it, one of which was the need for more structural facilities and distribution.
● Over the winter of 2012-2013 Kitchen Table meetings were held discussing the sub initiatives of “Stirring the Pot”. It was agreed that there was a lack and a need in Eastern Ontario for such processing and farmer oriented facilities. Lanark Local Flavours (ecoPerth) applied for funding through Valley Heartland EODP for funding to write a Feasibility Study which was approved summer 2013.
● Online survey questions for Feasibility Study were sent to producers, processors and buyers during Fall 2013 with 57 producers responding and 23 buyers responding.
● Information from survey as well as research gathered by Lanark Local Flavours over many years was compiled into a Feasibility Report during winter 2013-2014.
● March 3rd, 2014: All "Stirring the Pot" attendees invited to follow-up meeting and the Feasibility Report was presented to 100 attendees with results showing that all parties (producers, processors and buyers) had aligned needs and goals. Meeting attendees were asked to vote on moving forward with a physical location to be used for value-added food processing, local food distribution and farmer support. Motion was carried.
● Through connections within the community, a partnership was formed between Two Rivers Food Hub and Rideau Community Health Services in order to expedite funding applications through their incorporation, accounting oversight with their bookkeeping, and the implementation of structures within the Two Rivers Food Hub. As a registered charity they were also able to issue tax receipts for donations.
● All of these groups met individually over the next 5 months, as well all 3 groups met monthly to compile information and to decide on next steps.
● Late spring 2014 the Governance group applied for and received funding from Valley Heartland CFDC to write a business plan and during spring and summer 2014 they raised $54,000 from individuals, municipalities, and foundations. Business plan was completed Sept 2014.
● During summer 2014 the Governance group applied for and received matching funding from Valley Heartland CFDC for the money raised in order to find a location, begin buying equipment, and hire staff.
● Location secured at Gallipeau Centre with lease signed Dec. 1st, 2014, staff hired Dec 2014. Renovations and kitchen equipment purchasing begins with funding ending March 2015. Food Hub incorporates as a Not-For-Profit corporation, obtains business licence and officially opens March 2015 and begins actively recruiting kitchen clients.
● During fall 2014 and winter 2015 Governance group applied for 3 separate grants/funds - Trillium Foundation, Local Food Fund and Eastern Ontario Development Program. In spring 2015 all 3 funds granted money to the Two Rivers Food Fund for staffing, processing equipment, long term storage equipment, and more feasibility studies.
● Farmer outreach begins and Weekly Food Basket program is started June 2015 with sales direct to consumers from 8 small, local farms.
● May 2015: Distribution agreement reached with local foods distributor to create a route using the Two Rivers Food Hub as base of warehouse operations, including a new local yogurt maker who needed distributors and a secure cold-chain.
Where are we now? • Working capital: funding from Valley Heartland (2014-2015 completed for
Phase 1), Trillium, EODP Collaborative Fund, OMAFRA/LFF, Counties of Lanark, Leeds and Grenville, several townships, community groups and individuals; successful application to the Greenbelt Fund for 2016
• We have served over 30 Commercial Kitchen tenants since May of 2015 currently producing over $200,000 product/month
• Working with Meals on Wheels and Children’s Nutrition Project • Multi-farm Local Foods Basket has completed its second year - 79 clients • Wholesale sales have shown a more than 10-fold increase in gross revenue
in 4 months.
Related Documents
