In North Central Florida, the presence of more local farms doesn’t always mean more local food.
The region’s 15 counties make up a quarter of all Florida farms, yet food insecurity rates in 11 of those counties exceed the state average.
Alachua County Commissioners hired a consultant last year to research the feasibility of a “food hub” to help local growers aggregate, market and distribute their products.
The consultant presented results from the first phase of the 30-month, $960,000 study and pilot program to commissioners on Tuesday.
It found farmers, government officials, community organizations and large-scale buyers expressed enough interest in a food hub to move the idea forward to its pilot stage.
Pending the results of those projects, the consultant anticipates finalizing a food hub design and business plan by March 2028.
Connecting growers with new markets
Food hubs are gaining popularity. The latest National Food Hub Survey, conducted in 2021, reported over 400 sites nationwide.
In North Central Florida, the food hub’s main goal would be to give local growers more opportunities to sell their products, especially to larger buyers including schools and restaurants.
“We're seeing that farmers, especially small farmers, who we spoke to a lot, are having challenges entering traditional wholesale networks,” said Avi Mallinger, a project manager for the firm that led the study.
In surveys and interviews, Alachua County growers said that extreme weather, lack of access to cold storage and shrinking profit margins make it hard to compete with large distributors like Sysco.
Institutional buyers, for their part, said strict per-meal spending maximums and the need for consistent supply limit how many local products they can buy.
“Sometimes working with smaller farmers can be a challenge to get those at the right time and the right size and the right quantity,” Mallinger said. “Perhaps a food hub as an aggregator can mitigate those challenges by having multiple growers who might support certain kinds of produce.”
Food hubs often provide umbrella food safety certifications or liability insurance policies, explained Commissioner Anna Prizzia, allowing smaller farms to contribute their products to big buyers without an extra administrative burden.
The study suggested other uses for the food hub, too. It could offer business development and training opportunities, commercial kitchen space and a storefront for residents to do their weekly shopping.
“By shortening those supply chains and lowering those marketing costs you can actually increase the amount of money that makes it to the farmer for that food, even if the price point is the same,” Prizzia said.
Expanding farms’ regional reach
Funding for the food hub study came from county-level allocations of federal American Rescue Plan funding following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just over half of the project’s $960,000 price tag goes to the consultant to cover research costs while the rest is destined for project expenses, including grants for pilot projects slated for the spring.
It’s too early to say how the county will fund the food hub itself. Mallinger said similar projects across the country typically use a combination of grants, loans, bonds and tax credits.
While the consultant’s study focused on nonprofits, growers and buyers within Alachua County, commissioners suggested a regional approach could open up more funding opportunities.
“I think it’s got to be a regional approach,” said Commissioner Ken Cornell, noting above-average food insecurity rates in nearby Columbia, Union, Putnam and Levy counties. “ Those are our partners,” he said.
Phase two of the feasibility study will narrow the food hub’s goals into an operating model and fund pilot projects to test it. It is underway from now until August 2026.
