This session will help organizations and communities better understand the Ontario food hub sector as a whole, and the preparation work that is required to plan and implement a successful food hub. For the first time, a survey of food hubs in Ontario has been completed, and results of that survey will be presented. Then, hear a practical example about one hub’s journey from the feasibility stage to the opportunities and challenges in the first two years of operation. The session will conclude with an overview of best practices for planning food hub projects and resources available to support that stage.

1. The long and the short of it:
Mo2va2ons and reali2es for food hub
actors in Ontario, Canada
Phil Mount and Alison Blay-‐Palmer
Centre for Sustainable Food Systems,
Balsillie School for Interna2onal Affairs
Wilfrid Laurier University
“To hub or not to hub?”
Eastern Ontario Local Food Conference
1

2. grist.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/car1a.png?w=660&h=494
2

3. The challenge and approach
3
• To understand the nascent Ontario sustainable
local food system and related food hub ac2vity
• Province-‐wide case studies (22) and survey
(187 respondents)

4. Food hub?
4
• Food hubs are actual or virtual places through
which food is collected and resold to processors,
retailers or restaurants. Food hubs can also
provide space for other food-‐related ac2vi2es
including food prepara2on, handling and/or
processing. This survey is interested in local and/
or sustainable food.

5. The survey
5
Mike Nagy

6. Local food values
0 % 2 0 % 4 0 % 6 0 % 8 0 % 1 0 0 %
% o f Re s p o n d e n t s
(a v e r a g e n p e r q u e s t io n = 1 1 1 , r a n g e 1 0 1 t o 1 1 9 )
R es p o n s ib le / Su s t a in a b le P r o d u c tio n
W h e r e P r o d u c t is G r o w n
P ro f it a b ilit y
S o c ia l Ju s t ic e
C it ize n En g a g e m e n t
5 = h ig h p r io r it y 4 3 2 1 = n o t a p r io r it y
6

7. What is local food?
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
7
Within 100
kms
Ontario Region County Other Canada
%ofBusiness(Average)
Customer/ buyer location

8. Top sources of funding, daily opera2ons
n = 176
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
8

9. Purchases from SMEs
0% 20%
% Resp o n ses (n = 80)
9
40% 60%
# o f sm all an d m id -sized p r o d u cer s, s u p p lier s
an d b u yer s w e p u r ch ase/ p ro cur e fr o m h as:
In cr eased r ap id ly
In cr eased st ead ily
Stayed t h e sam e
D ecr eased st ead ily
D ecr eased r ap id ly

10. Barriers to expansion
0
10
25 50 75
Num ber of Responses
100
Type of Challenge
Connecting to buyers
Financing expansion
Increasing production
On-farm /direct sales
Large buyers: certification
Large buyers: delivery dem ands, tim ing
Large buyers: m in order
Distributor
Large buyers: product consistency
Direct to school

11. The case studies
11

12. Case Study Typology
www.grain.org
12

13. + Organiza2onal maps
13

14. Impacts & Benefits
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• Economies of scale
Efficiencies and cost savings
• Local economic development
Support for local businesses
• Facilita2ng local/regional food distribu2on
• Building partnerships & rela2onships
• Increasing access to fresh, local food
• Increasing food system knowledge

15. Challenges & Limita2ons
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• Access to capital
• Insufficient supply
Local food, organic food, processed goods
• Transporta2on and distribu2on problems
• Dependence on volunteer labour
• Compe22on from conven2onal retailers and
distributors

16. Keys to Success
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• Build/expand gradually
• Integrate work across food chain
• Engage with the local community
Build rela2onships across different sectors
• Crea2vity
• Persistence

17. Impacts & Benefits
Economies
of Scale
Facilitating
Local I Regional
Food Distribution
Ontario
Food
Terminal

18. Impacts & Benefits
RESOURCES
INITIATIVE +
c : r PUBLIC_ . ,
Ontario
Food
Terminal
Building Partnerships
and Relationships

19. INITIATJV
c r PUBUC. . . . .
o - PRIVATE+
RESOURCES
Ontario
Food
Terminal
r---aggregation
aggroga

20. RESOURCES
INITIATJV
c r PUBUC. . . . .
o - PRIVATE+
......
Challenges & Limitations 'o<O
Dependence on volunteer labour Foundation
:: · K: · c;enue A Q S S to
Capital
62 . . .
tirrestaff
Competition from conventiona
retailers and distributors
l--i d---1
'
Ontario
Food
Termina . . : : ; ; = - = = - , . . ·ggregation
Insufficient Supply
......._L_ocal food, organic food, processed

21. RESOURCES
INITIATJV
c r PUBUC. . . . .
o - PRIVATE+
......
Keys to Success
Creati .y'- - ......- ..-:;
Integrate work
across food chain = "
Ontario
Food
Terminal
,.
Engage with local community
Build relationships across different sectors
•99'"9•

22. MULTI-‐FUNCTIONAL FOOD SYSTEM
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23. • 32% increase in Scoe s h
b randed food and drink sold in
Great Britain
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• Nearly 2x farmers’ markets, 38%
increase in sales
• 164,000+ students and 6,500
teachers learned about healthy
cooking prac2ces
• 1 in 3 primary schools are
registered with the ‘Food for Life
Catering Mark’
• ‘Zero Waste Scotland’ ini2a2ve is
decreasing waste
hjp://www.gov.scot/resource/doc/277346/0083283.pdf

24. hjp://www.nhsscotlandprocurement.scot.nhs.uk/
media/10379/good_food_na2on.jpg
• “We need a Scotland
that recognizes, at all
levels, the strategic
24
importance of food so
we can move towards a
healthier, resilient and
sustainable food
system.”
Scoe s h
Government 2014:
17

25. “…the policy terrain is complex, with a vast array of stakeholders
and many compe2ng interests which need to be acknowledged and
resolved. The bold vision set out in Becoming a Good Food Na/ o n
requires to be matched by a bold and fully integrated policy stance
in order to be credible.” (Scoe s h Government 2015: 2)
hjp://www.gov.scot/Topics/Business-‐Industry/Food-‐Industry/na2onal-‐strategy/good-‐food--
‐na2on/foodcommission
25

26. Wrapping up…
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The ‘Good Food Na2on’ example reinforces the poten2al for
SFS success through suppor2ve policy.
Thispointstothe need for itera2on—and coordina2on between mul2ple
policy scales and ins2tu2ons
Benefits:
enhanced SFS markets
links between producers and consumers
improved educa2on about healthy ea2ng
more robust SFS-‐related policy.

27. Wrapping up…
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Breaking down walls between conven2onal and LSFS
to create a more integrated food landscape
Opportuni2es for amplifying impact through links to
sustainability ini2a2ves beyond food:
Waste, mobility, energy, amenity services, informa2on and
communica2on technologies, forest services 'communi2es
of sustainability'

28. BALSILLIE SCHOOL
OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
••• Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada
Conseil de recherches en
sciences humaines du Canada Canada

29. Ques2ons?
Bookmarks and post cards
Thank you
29
Phil Mount
pmount@wlu.ca
Alison Blay-‐Palmer
ablaypalmer@wlu.ca