Food Hubs Help Communities In Need Of Produce

Giving Compass’ Take:

· Writing for Harvest Public Media, Madelyn Beck explains how The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food hub database is helping to connect all types of farmers to commercial businesses or public institutions in need of produce.

· What are food hubs and how do they affect the community? How are farmers connected to the communities in need? How can donors and philanthropists support the development of other community programs like this?

· Read more about making healthy food more affordable and accessible. 

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Between the growing warehouse district and the south side of Peoria, Illinois, sits 1312 SW Adams Street. The city-owned building looks like a great space for a haunted house: cracked paint, holes, shattered glass and pieces of drywall littering the staircases. But officials and economic development groups have another idea.

But officials and economic development groups have another idea. They put up booths and led tours of the building in late May, showing how it could be used to bring health services and healthy food to an area that’s been losing businesses like grocery stores and for years.

Organizers also envision it as a place for local farmers to team up and sell their food to places they might not otherwise provide a big enough bounty for.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food hub database shows 237 food hubs nationwide; there are eight in Illinois, though half are in Chicago. These help aggregate food from all kinds of farms to sell to commercial businesses or to public institutions like schools.

Tory Dahlhoff, an outreach and rural development coordinator for the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, said strengthening the relationship between struggling rural areas and struggling urban areas could benefit both.

Read the full article about helping communities in need with food hubs by Madelyn Beck at Harvest Public Media.