Toward a More Expansive Understanding of Food Hubs

Abstract

A review of the uses of the term "food hub" reveals a dynamic and evolving concept. Since planners need to understand these various uses, we offer a preliminary framework for a food hub typology. We also suggest attributes and a definition that should be considered when assessing existing sites and planning for new food hubs. We then assess three food hub sites in Seattle, Washington, using our typology and characteristics that should be considered (audience, ownership, purpose, design and siting, and scale). Our assessment demonstrates that the strengths, viability, and vitality of each food hub are derived from attributes not currently considered by the most commonly used, type-focused definitions of food hubs. Our contribution adds clarity to the evolving discussion about food hubs, and describes elements for communities, particularly the planning community, to consider when planning for them.

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

“…Scholars and public institutions have worked to elaborate a comprehensive definition of FH: Morely et al [11], Horrel et al [12], Horst et al [13] and USDA [14] focused their attention on the functional aspects of co-ordination, looking at FHs as an intermediary between many local producers and suppliers and customers, including institutions, food service…”

“…The overall online FHs' value proposition relies in reducing search, transaction and coordination costs for buyers and sellers adopting an online food hub model that has been defined by Horst et al [13] as an "internet-based online directory and marketplace that fosters efficient connections between local and regional food producers and consumers"…”

“…Together they co-produce shared economic and socio-environmental values to be distributed within the network and positively affect the entire local community. 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].…”

Rustbelt Radicalism: A Decade of Food Systems Planning Practice in Buffalo, New York (USA)

“…Today, planning scholars in more traditional areas of planning such as growth management are taking note of the importance of food systems (Chapin, 2012), and, likewise, journals focused on food are exploring the possibilities and pitfalls of having planners engaged in food systems. Indeed, in 2011, the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development published a special issue on planning for food systems that covered a wide array of topics ranging from development of new planning definitions, measures, and tools (Freedgood, Pierce-Quiñonez, & Meter, 2011) to planning for new food infrastructure such as food hubs (Horst, Ringstrom, Tyman, Ward, Werner, & Born, 2011). This reemerging interest by planners in rebuilding food systems gives us reason for both enthusiasm and pause.…”

Food Hubs: Reconnecting Alternative Food Networks and Conventional Supply Chain

“…There are also forms of integration between small agricultural companies, with an average size of 4 hectares and which represent 73% of producers, and large-scale companies [6].…”