Food Hubs of the Future
The idea of creating food hubs appeared in numerous different contexts at the Wales Real Food and Farming Conference in Aberystwyth, November 2019. The idea of hubs really excited me, and so I hope to share a few thoughts on why I find the idea of a hub exciting for working towards a more sustainable food system.
The word hub is used by groups who bring people together, and the ‘food hub’ suggests that people come together because of food. Driven by progressive organisations working towards more social and environmentally minded enterprises, ‘Food hubs’ have been gaining popularity in the UK over the last 10 years. This development shows that people are inspired to work together, and that there is a desire for change towards a more sustainable food system.
But what is a food hub, and what would it do? At the Wales Real Food and Farming Conference the role of a food hub was suggested to be varied. All were presented as part of a solution and part of an opportunity for different aspects of our food system to flourish and become more sustainable.
Here is a summary of the different type of food hubs I heard being discussed:
‘Producer Hubs’ – Supporting local smaller scale food producers to reach a market
‘Procurement Hubs’ – A focus on bringing in food to sell in quantity to institutions, offices, schools or hospitals
‘Redistribution / Food Surplus Hubs’ – there are lots of these popping up around the UK to deal with the environmental issue of supermarket and business food waste.
Waste Recovery / Value Hubs – A similar idea to a food surplus hub, but perhaps more focused on innovation and large scale waste to be used for creating a more ‘closed loop’ and circular food system. This could involve a focus on secondary products or by-products. ‘Seed Hubs/ libraries’ – Challenging the ownership of seeds, building a more genetically diverse and resilient local seed base!
‘Skill sharing hubs’ – small scale caterers or producers of manufactured foods can share the infrastructure and kitchen resources to operate self-employed businesses. These spaces can also be used for up-skilling people in cooking!
The range of issues that the food hub is trying to overcome highlights what people want from our food system. Food hubs could enable more local decision-making powers surrounding food trade, and where our food comes from – an integral aspect of a healthy food system for citizens to have affordable access to food produced in balance with nature.
Furthermore, food would not go through the same valuing / de-valuing processes that it goes through in retail chains or institutional processes. Its worth could be governed by people closer to where it is grown and eaten. Perhaps the food hub model of a food system could reflect the truer value of food? Where bringing people together within a transparent food system could showcase the enormous unaccounted value and power of food and food production and stimulate a more circular and participatory food system.
The ECO Food Sharing Hub, Aberystwyth
In Aberystwyth, we have an ECO Food Sharing Hub. It came out of cross sector discussions within the community, and the willpower of the many different organisations working together to deal with our supermarkets food waste issues. It was an idea designed in a ‘best fit approach’ to make this food available to our community – where it was ultimately intended to be all along – not in landfill bins!
It has taken a few years to set up, but it continually highlights a strong desire for change in both our food system and our local area. Our ECO Food Sharing Hub is stimulating conversations about what else can be achieved by working together, and how else we can become closer to our food and food producers – a fundamental community here in Wales. Through the conversations at our food hub we are evolving everyday to build local food resilience.
At the Wales Real Food & Farming Conference the concept of a food hub was discussed in much broader terms, not just for the redistribution of food labelled as ‘waste’.
Food hubs have the potential to make change! If you want to be part of this conversation please get in touch!
If you are a grower or producer local to Aberystwyth looking to shorten your food supply chain and sell local please get in touch to find out more or get involved – our Aber Food Coop would be keen to meet you, visit your farm, advertise you, and sell your produce on a weekly basis!
Happy food citizens paying for their organic vegetables!
Volunteers running the AU Aber Food Coop, February 2020