Written by: Julia Gaskin
Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator, University of Georgia

As I have traveled around the state working with farmers over the past several years, I have heard several issues brought up time and again. One of these is how difficult it is for small and mid-size farms to get their crops to a market.

We hear about growing demand for local food and the numbers seem to support this. For example, the number of farmer’s markets has increased from 12 to 85 over the past six years. These markets are key for small farms whose primary market is direct to the consumer, but in many places this outlet is not robust enough to handle all the fruit and vegetables produced. There are additional challenges for those producing meats with limited access for processing and ways to sell directly to the consumer. In other cases, there are farmers who prefer not dealing directly with the public and are looking for ways to sell their produce to restaurants, schools or grocery stores. This can be a challenge for small and mid-size farms because they may not be able to supply a particular item in enough quantity or over the period of time these wholesale markets want.

We need more infrastructures for these farmers to help them combine production from several farms to reach these markets, to help match supply and demand, to help with storage, and possibly process produce or meats. One approach that is being tried is a “food hub.” Food hubs are facilities that help aggregate, market, store, or process regional or local foods. A key feature of a food hub is that the consumer knows the farm where the produce or meat is produced.

We think food hubs are an important part of recreating a mid-scale agriculture in Georgia. We see potential for them to supply consumers, schools, and institutions with more local/regional food. We see potential for them to help revitalize rural communities by building on our agricultural heritage. We see potential for them to help young people who want to enter farming to be able to start with smaller, more affordable operations and grow.

To tap into this potential, the University of Georgia, Fort Valley State University, and the Georgia Department of Agriculture along with Georgia Organics, Georgia Farm Bureau and other partners are forming the Georgia Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. One of our goals is to develop at least two food hubs in Georgia over the next five years.

Come join us for our kick-off event – Food Hubs for the Future, Oct. 27, at the Mahler Auditorium in the Georgia Continuing Education Center, Athens, Ga. If you cannot attend in person, log on to the webinar. James Barham, a USDA Agricultural Marketing Service expert of food hubs is our featured speaker. We will also have a panel discussion with UGA Dean Scott Angle, FVSU Dean Govind Kannan, Commissioner Gary Black, Don McGough of Farm Bureau and Alice Rolls of Georgia Organics.

For more information, go to http://extension.uga.edu/calendar/event.cfm?pk_id=928 or contact me at jgaskin@engr.uga.edu.

Join us and see how you can be involved in creating a bright future for local, sustainable food in Georgia.