Field & Fork Network recently announced a big step forward in launching a major initiative to increase marketing and distribution of locally grown agricultural projects and give a boost to Western New York’s food system.
The local non-profit food and farming organization was awarded $175,000 in funding from Farm Credit Northeast and the Western New Power Proceeds Allocation Fund to begin their Ready to Grow Food Hub Planning Project. Field & Fork’s goal in this initiative is to drive more locally grown agriculture products to the regional wholesale market, offering support to many local small farms that are often excluded from bigger markets.
According to the USDA, a Food Hub is defined as “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.”
“Of the 7,500 farms that exist in WNY, more than 88 percent of those are considered small farms. And many grow and raise outstanding agriculture products,” said Lisa Tucker, co-founder and Executive Director of Field & Fork Network. “Unfortunately due to market constraints, these farmers have been left out of the wholesale market. We expect this project to address and eventually mitigate those market barriers for both farmers and for institutional buyers who want to source local products.”
Planning Western New York’s Food Hub will begin with a thorough market analysis, agriculture production analysis and infrastructure analysis of the five-county region, including Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties to determine its feasibility. From there, they will design an appropriate business model that will meet the needs of local growers and food buyers. Field & Fork will partner with Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Harvest NY team and New Venture Advisors, a Chicago-based consulting firm that specializes in the assessment, design, launch and development of businesses in the area of local food and sustainable agriculture. In the past four years, New Venture has contributed to launching over 13 food hubs nationwide.
An advisory board of local agriculture industry leaders and stakeholders has been created to help guide the planning process. Included on this board are Nathan Rudgers of Farm Credit East, Diane Held of American Farmland Trust & Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County, Paul Bencal from Bencal Farms, Mark Rountree from the Erie County Dept. of Environment & Planning, Philip Gotwals from Agricultural & Community Development Services, LLC, Julie Blackman from Blackman Homestead Farm, Eben Kennedy from Wegmans Markets, and Carolyn Rosiek from Farm This Way.
Those interested in learning more about the Ready to Grow Food Hub project can attend a public meeting on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Erie County Fire Training Academy, located at 3359 Broadway in Cheektowaga. More information can also be found at www.fieldandforknetwork.com or by contacting Lisa Tucker at (716) 465-5704.
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