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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
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grist.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/car1a.png?w=660&h=494
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The challenge and approach
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• To understand the nascent Ontario sustainable local food system and related food hub ac2vity
• Province--wide case studies (22) and survey (187 respondents)
Food hub?
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• 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.
The survey
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Mike Nagy
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 t io n
W h e r e P r o d u c t is G r o w n
P r o f i t a b i l i t 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 i t y 4 3 2 1 = n o t a p r io r i t y
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What is local food? 60 50 40 30 20 10
0
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Within 100 kms
Ontar io Region County Other Canada
% o
f Bus
ines
s (A
vera
ge)
Customer/ buyer location
Top sources of funding, daily opera2ons n = 176
160 140 120 100
80
60
40
20
0
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Purchases from SMEs
0% 20% % Resp o n ses (n = 80)
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40% 60%
# o f sm a ll an d m id -s ized p r o d u cer s, s u p p lie r 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
Barriers to expansion
0
10
25 50 75
Num ber of Responses 100
Type of Challenge
Connect ing to buyers
Financing expansion
Increasing p roduct ion
On-farm /d ir ect sales
Large buyers: cer t if icat ion
Large buyers: deliver y dem ands, t im ing
Large buyers: m in order
Dist r ibu tor
Large buyers: p roduct consistency
Direct to school
The case studies
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Case Study Typology
www.grain.org
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+ Organiza2onal maps
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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
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
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
Impacts & Benefits
Economies of Scale
Facilitating Local I Regional Food Distribution
Ontario Food
Terminal
Impacts & Benefits
RESOURCES
INITIATIVE +
c : r PUBLIC_ . ,
Ontario Food
Terminal Building Partnerships and Relationships
INITIATJV
c r PUBUC. . . . .
o - PRIVATE +
RESOURCES
Ontario Food
Terminal r---
aggregation
aggroga
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
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•
MULTI--FUNCTIONAL FOOD SYSTEM
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• 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
hjp://www.nhsscotlandprocurement.scot.nhs.uk/ media/10379/good_food_na2on.jpg
• “We need a Scotland that recognizes, at all levels, the strategic
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importance of food so we can move towards a healthier, resilient and sustainable food system.”
Scoe s h Government 2014: 17
“…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)
h jp ://www.gov.scot/Topics/Business--Industry/Food--Industry/na2onal--strategy/good-- food---na2on/foodcommission
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Wrapping up…
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The ‘Good Food Na2on’ example reinforces the poten2al for SFS success through suppor2ve policy. This points to the 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.
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'
BALSILLIE SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
••• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada Canada
Ques2ons?
Bookmarks and post cards
Thank you
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Phil Mount [email protected]
Alison Blay--Palmer [email protected]
