what is a food hub?
Food hubs are a potential collaborative solution to a common pain point for small-scale growers: marketing and distribution.
By aggregating, processing, distributing, and/or marketing local products, food hubs can connect agricultural producers to markets they might not otherwise be able to access.
Food hubs can take many forms—some are corporations, many are nonprofits, and others are cooperatives. While some food hubs focus on aggregation to meet the needs of larger institutional buyers like schools or hospitals, other food hubs might hone in on direct-to-consumer marketing, including online and brick-and-mortar storefronts.
Other services a food hub might provide include:
Commercial kitchen space
Coolers and dry storage
Online ordering
Coordination of wholesale and bulk purchasing
Pickup and home delivery
want to join a food hub?
explore our map of oregon food hubs
want to start a food hub?
Get Connected!
find resources about…
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USDA “Running a Food Hub” Series
Vol 1: Lessons Learned From the Field (2005) | 51 page guide with lessons learned and food hub profiles
Vol 2: A Business Operations Guide (2015) | 83 page guide with details about business structures, infrastructure needs, labor, + more
Vol 3: Assessing Financial Viability (2016) | 43 page deeper dive into wholesale vs direct-to-consumer food hubs
Vol 4: Learning from Food Hub Closures (2017) | 65 page guide with case studies
Food Hubs: 10 Lessons on Viability | Article
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Managing Cash Flow for a Low-Capital Food Hub Start-Up | 8 page guide on managing food hub cash flow
Local Food Promotion Program | Federal funding opportunity
Rural Business Development Grants | Funding opportunity for rural nonprofit food hubs
Speciality Crop Block Grant | Potential funding for food hubs
Value Added Producer Grants | Potential funding opportunity for food hubs
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Join the Oregon Community Food Systems Network (OCFSN) Food Hub Network