Food Hubs: Definitions, Expectations, and Realities

Fischer, Micaela; Pirog, Rich; Hamm, Michael W.

doi:10.1080/19320248.2015.1004215

Cited by 32 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…According to Fisher et al [80,124], FHs are local or regional and food distribution business "plus". What distinguishes them from the other local or regional and food distribution business is that the FH exhibits mission-driven values in addition to financial goals that affect the FH's functions and operations.…”

Section: Food Hubs Models Functions and Operationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competitiveness of Small Farms and Innovative Food Supply Chains: The Role of Food Hubs in Creating Sustainable Regional and Local Food Systems

2016

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Abstract:Over the last decades, the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the conventional agri-food system has and continues to be contested within both academic and public institutions. For small farms, the unsustainability of the food system is even more serious; farms' declining share of profit and the cost-price squeeze of commodity production has increased barriers to market access with the inevitable effect of agricultural abandonment. One way forward to respond to the existing conventional agri-food systems and to create a competitive or survival strategy for small family farms is the re-construction of regional and local agri-food systems, aligning with Kramer and Porter's concept of shared value strategy. Through a critical literature review, this paper presents "regional and local food hubs" as innovative organizational arrangements capable of bridging structural holes in the agri-food markets between small producers and the consumers-individuals and families as well as big buyers. Food hubs respond to a supply chain (or supply network) organizational strategy aiming at re-territorialising the agri-food systems through the construction of what in the economic literature are defined as values-based food supply chains.

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Section: Food Hubs Models Functions and Operationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competitiveness of Small Farms and Innovative Food Supply Chains: The Role of Food Hubs in Creating Sustainable Regional and Local Food Systems

2016

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“…They also argue, however, that these efforts were still "limited and kept largely isolated" because food policies-as well as resources, training, research, and infrastructureare often oriented toward an industrial food system that undermines small and midsized producers and processors (Stroink & Nelson, 2013). Other scholars have shown that food hubs can fully incorporate their social missions once they scale up sufficiently to become financially viable (Cleveland, Müller, Tranovich, Mazaroli, & Hinson, 2014;Feldstein & Barham, 2017;Fischer et al, 2015), while one study found that food hubs can lose their commitment to low-income food access as they scale up (Franklin, Newton, & McEntee, 2011).…”

Section: Theoretical Framework and The State Of The Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

"Put Your Own Mask on Before Helping Someone Else": The Capacity of Food Hubs to Build Equitable Food Access

Hoey

Shapiro

Bielaczyc

2018

J. Agric. Food Syst. Community Dev.

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In a bifurcated U.S. food market, where one market is largely controlled by national brands and global corporations alongside an expanding alternate market of hyper-local direct sales, midscale producers and processors are struggling to persist. One emerging strategy for rebuilding this middle of the food system-food hubs-has gained attention as a model that could rebuild local food economies and equitable food access. Through an examination of Michigan food hubs, we ask about the extent to which and under what conditions food hubs can operationalize dual economic and social goals. We found many innovations and efforts to address food access in low-income communities-especially among food hubs that were nonprofits, had been operating for less time, and were more Funding Disclosure The evaluation and the operation of the Network were funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Kresge Foundation, but neither foundation was involved in conceiving of this study or in writing the article.

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“…Scholars proposed different perspective in FHs' definition, as well as noting the variety of organizational structures, target customers, ownership and control, function and operation [10], [11], [13], [14],. Despite this diversity it is possible to observe a common agreement about the potential of FHs to overcome the distributional limitations of small-scale AFNs and to help initiatives to 'scale-up' and deliver benefits for local communities [19], [8], [1], [3], [2], [16], [14].…”

Section: Food Hubs (Fhs): Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Blay-Palmer et al [15], in their definition of FHs, highlighted the sustainability aspect of FHs, while other authors try to balance the functional aspects with the civic and sustainable ones. In their study Fisher et al [16] stated: "Food hubs are, or intend to be, financially viable businesses that demonstrate a significant commitment to place through aggregation and marketing of regional food." In the same vein, Franklin et al [17] and Franklin and Morgan [18] pointed out that community food hubs provide to local producers and consumers the coordination of activities such as sourcing, supply, and/or marketing and distribution of products.…”

Section: Food Hubs (Fhs): Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of ICTs in Supporting Collaborative Networks in the Agro-Food Sector: Two Case Studies from South West England

Gala

Reed

2017

Collaboration in a Data-Rich World

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DisclaimerThe University of Gloucestershire has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material.The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited.The University of Gloucestershire makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights.The University of Gloucestershire accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR TEXT.This is a pre-print version of the paper submitted to Working Abstract. Over recent years, in a wide range of countries, grassroots initiatives have emerged aimed at overcoming the limits of the mainstream agro-business system. These initiatives aim at improving farmers' access to local and regional markets and consumers' access to fresh local produce. Among these initiatives, Food Hubs have emerged as a promising way to improve local food supply systems. They represent collaborative networks of producers and consumers that aggregate, distribute, and market local food products. ICTs enable these collaborative networks by allowing information exchange among their actors and by providing collaborative tools that allow quick co-ordination between members of the network. The paper aims to analyse, through a multi-case study analysis, how the adoption of ICTs have fostered the development of new, "alternative" initiatives oriented at establishing local food networks and to reconnect producers and consumers. The study will present results from the analysis of two food-hub initiatives based in South West England, which are adopting informative systems to support their activities and to implement novel business models: Stroudco Food Hub and Dean Forest Food Hub.

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Food Hubs: Definitions, Expectations, and Realities

Cited by 32 publications

References 4 publications

Competitiveness of Small Farms and Innovative Food Supply Chains: The Role of Food Hubs in Creating Sustainable Regional and Local Food Systems

Competitiveness of Small Farms and Innovative Food Supply Chains: The Role of Food Hubs in Creating Sustainable Regional and Local Food Systems

"Put Your Own Mask on Before Helping Someone Else": The Capacity of Food Hubs to Build Equitable Food Access

The Role of ICTs in Supporting Collaborative Networks in the Agro-Food Sector: Two Case Studies from South West England

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