1. Food Hubs Indiana Rural Summit: Local Foods

2. Actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source- identified food products Primarily local and regional producers Satisfies wholesale, retail, and institutional demand for local foods Infrastructure What is a "food hub"?

3. Focus on local Small- and medium-sized enterprises Legal structure varies Privately owned / non-profit / cooperative / government-run Operating structure varies Supply chain coordination/marketing/education / virtual – (buying club) / aggregation + production What is a "food hub"?

4. ProducerConsumer Community

5. Increase market access for local and regional producers o Aggregation -> high volume and consistent supply o Relieve producers of marketing, processing, distribution tasks, etc. o Offer producer and consumer training and support services o Cooperation creates material efficiencies What do food hubs do?

6. Make sourcing local foods a real option on a larger scale o Single point of purchase o Economies of scale o Allow resellers to respond to demand What do food hubs do?

7. Leave a positive impact on communities o Quality food accessible to more people o Alleviate food deserts and food insecurity o Increased health & wellness o Increased awareness of benefits of local foods through education o Boost the local economy o Positive environmental impact What do food hubs do?

8. Challenges Opportunities Access to Capital Long-term efficiencies No “template” Flexibility Highly dependent on cooperation Resilience Meeting demand for year- round supply Bring in diverse suppliers / fresh ideas Competing with “big business” economies of scale Develop partnerships to expand local market

9. Wabash Valley Food Hub – Terre Haute Central Indiana Food Hub – Hancock Cnty Green B.E.A.N. – Indy, Ft. Wayne, Muncie Several in Chicagoland Area Local Growers Guild – Bloomington Food hubs in Indiana

10. More than 200 listed in USDA “working list” (outdated) More and more popping up each week Food Hub Networks developing (Great Lakes Food Hub Network) Network of networks Across the Nation

11. Background Indiana State University Unbounded Possibilities Rural-Urban Entrepreneurship Development Institute (RUEDI) Local food network is one of four RUEDI focus areas Wabash Valley Food Hub

12. Activities to Date Preliminary research Advisory Committee formed Awareness/excitement building Preparing for stakeholder meetings & survey Wabash Valley Food Hub

13. Current Status Strong informal support and enthusiasm Focus on stakeholder engagement Wabash Valley Food Hub

14. Next Steps Engage stakeholders! Strengthen and diversify Advisory Committee Compile survey data and make recommendations Develop business plan and launch Wabash Valley Food Hub

15. o Wallace Center – National Good Food Network ngfn.org o Crossroads Resource Center crcworks.org o USDA Food Hub website ams.usda.gov/foodhubs o Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture leopold.iastate.edu o Google it! Resources on Food Hubs

16. Jason Saavedra Partner/Principal J3 Concepts 812-645-4610 info@j3planning.com Contact Find us on Facebook! facebook.com/WabashValleyFoodHub