1: 00 pm, est participants introduced themselves: ns: Dave Adler & Justin Cantafio
Download 44.95 Kb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Beth Hunter (McConnell Foundation)
- Gayle Creutzberg (Huron County)
- Anne (Local Food Marketplace in Eugene, Oregon, a tech company specializing in writing software for food hubs.)
- Darren Stott (Independent consultant, Greenchain Consulting
- Jason Found (Executive director @ Victoria Community Food Hub Society)
- Abra: (Coordinator
- Abra led a discussion about challenges of managing supply and demand and started with a couple of stories of businesses she is familiar with in BC. Relevant issues
- Nelson Co-op experience
- Participant responses: Sylvie
- Abra: Daniel, having recently completed your food hub feasibility study, can you discuss where you’re landed Are you looking @ bricks and mortar or more virtual Daniel
- Abra to Anne
- Abra to Terry: Would you speak to matching local production with the market where you are How will you manage year-round piece if at all Terry
- Abra to Darren: Would you like to share what key issues you’ve come across through your work in the area of managing the challenges of supply and demand Darren
- Lori
- Darren
- Moe to Abra
| Notes from Cross-Canada Teleconference on Food Hubs Mar. 19, 2014,
1:00 pm, EST Participants introduced themselves: NS: Dave Adler & Justin Cantafio (Ecology Action Centre) Working on Sustainable Seafood Hub. Will be attending the upcoming Food Hub Collaboration Conference in North Carolina, hosted by the National Good Food Network. Goals/ Interests/ Projects: Looking to finalize logistics re: aggregation of various sustainable seafood suppliers and distribution in Atlantic provinces and maybe even beyond. QC: Denis Lemieux (Co-opérative de solidarité Hélios, a small solidarity co-operative). Goals/Interests/Projects: Main goal to achieve food security and teach gardening throughout the Laurentians region. Sylvie Robert (Transitions Town Movement- Montreal). Goals/Interests/Projects: To try and re-localize food production and distribution. Wants to see how food hubs can help with that goal. A grassroots citizen movement looking for new ways to inspire people to think about the food market and how to purchase local food. Beth Hunter (McConnell Foundation): Goals/Interests/Projects: We have a Sustainable Food Systems Initiative that support snot only Food Secure Canada, but a # of projects, including those taking on food hubs. Will be attending Food Hub Conference in N. Carolina. Shoshana Freedman: (Food Secure Canada): Note-taker ON: Hannah Renglich(Local Organic Food co-operative Network). Network includes those who would identify as a food hub e.g. Eat Local Sudbury Gayle Creutzberg (Huron County) Goals/Interests/Projects: Started collaborative last year bringing together 5 counties/economic development community futures, economic development staff, farmers and stakeholders. No infrastructure in the works to date. Moe Garahan(Just Food Ottawa): came in to call late, after intro rounds—announced presence at end of call Manitoba Daniel (Food Matters Manitoba) Goals/Interests/Projects: Just finished feasibility study last week on Winnipeg food hub. Looking at bringing wholesale orders of farm-sourced food to a # of institutions from restaurants to groceries to school cafeterias. Will be attending Food Hub Conference in N. Carolina. Anne (Local Food Marketplace in Eugene, Oregon, a tech company specializing in writing software for food hubs.) Goals/Interests/Projects: Specializes in writing software for food hubs, helping them with aggregation, distribution planning. Works with a # of organizations in Canada, wants to know more about what’s going on here with food hubs. BC: Lori Graham: (Pitt Meadows Economic Development) Goals/Interests/Projects: Working on food hub concept—did pre-feasibility study last year. Now working on proving out the demand and continuing to look at matching potential buyers and sellers and supporting local small and medium-sized farms in N. Fraser region (45 min. E of Vancouver). Largest demand seems to be with marketing and distribution assistance. Looking for local champions to help move that forward. Darren Stott (Independent consultant, Greenchain Consulting) Goals/Interests/Projects: Worked on a # of projects and initiatives in B.C. Consulting specialty is food/health. Worked on initiatives in B.C. including with Van Farmer’s market, and small scale food distribution through recreation services. Jason Found (Executive director @ Victoria Community Food Hub Society) Goals/Interests/Projects: Completed feasibility study and business plan and are looking@ property now and waiting funding. Focusing on storage in greater Victoria area and food processing/food enterprise incubation. Abra: (Coordinator for this call and working group, as Local and Sustainable Food Systems Network coordinator for Food Secure Canada. Also Board president of co-op in Nelson, been actively involved with co-op for 23 yrs.) Terry Linklater (President of Cowichan Food Producers Cooperative in Duncan BC) Goals/Interests/ Projects: Working towards creating market availability for local farmers and, in the long term, a food hub for Cowichan Valley. Abra led a discussion about challenges of managing supply and demand and started with a couple of stories of businesses she is familiar with in BC. Relevant issues: As soon as you have bricks and mortar: consistent activity and income required to support infrastructure. Challenge to ensure consistency of service to match expectations of customers, whose expectations not always aligned with realities of Mother Nature. Challenging for both fisheries and land-based food systems to try and match the supply when talking about small-scale and sustainable production Nelson Co-op experience: S. Eastern BC, mountains, snow. Nelson population approx.11,000. Co-op is 39 yrs. old, membership base: 12,000, move about 12 million dollars worth of food products in and out of the store each year. Started as food buyers club. Always had commitment to supporting local producers and to having local and healthy food, but saw need for broad range of products over the years to meet demand and members expectations. Strong established relnships with farmers, community futures, colleges in area, others aware co-op wants to collaborate with others locally, help them be a successful food business. Help them with product, market information, link them to partners who can help them further goals. Co-op also fell back on imports and “bridge products” to complement/subsidize ideal list of products. Also educating public is key— help them to understand products won’t always look picture perfect, that abundance and shortages are part of cycle and food intake should be adapted accordingly and aligned with cycles of nature. This is a hard sell, but slowly but surely making progress. Another story: business started 20 yrs. ago in BC: Discovery Organics, established their business (broker/distributor) as carrying exclusively organic B.C.-only products. A few yrs. in, found it was a business model that couldn’t work for them, so shifted their product line to address reality of maintaining bricks and mortar and functional staff needs. Now import products from selectively chosen farmers up and down west coast of continent, but use ethical sourcing. Ecological approach, rather than political boundary approach. Direct relnship with all suppliers and strive for fair relationships, and have program to support their staff and staff of others who purchase from them. Send staff and partners’ staff to work on the farms to better understand farmworker conditions and ecosystems, etc. Participant responses: Sylvie: Q: Re: matching supply and demand. When we do public education evenings, our audience is mostly educated middle class. Is this true for co-ops specializing in local and organic? Do you also see that kind of customer, or do you see that idea of buying local is getting through to a broader audience? Abra: A: Sees broad range of people involved. Kootenay culture: varied history of back to the land, historical settling of Doukhobors, left-leaning culture, draft-dodgers. Different cultural characteristics of the region results in high critical mass of people thinking about their food, health, ecosystems and politics in ways not typical of small communities. At co-op: and range of economic status, people often concerned about health following health crisis. Try to ensure products and stores meet needs of people with lower–income too. Do a lot of education re: how to eat on a budget Hannah: A: Network 50 different co-ops across Ontario. How to address diversity of membership: Example: West End Food Co-op in Parkdale, downtown T.O longstanding low-income neighbourhood, now quickly gentrifying. Co-op was created to give access to healthy affordable food for everyone. Offers programs to many different classes of people. Different events/programs draw different audiences. Farmers Market: frequented mostly by middle and upper class demographic. Trying to create a store space that is inviting and inclusive for all members of the community, programs such as cooperative credit and cooperative ambassador program, partnering with neighbourhood and community organizations to bring in those who would otherwise not have access to healthy food programs/stores/access points. Work for credit program work to obtain credit at@ co-op (partnership with Parkdale Recreationa and Actvity Centre ) gift-certificate format--makes it unidentifiable at cash who is using this program, to avoid stigma. Bring all kinds of people into co-op for community events, community cannery, and community-supported orchard program. Example: True North Community Co-op in Thunder Bay has done a tremendous job of making local and sustainably produced food very affordable not only to those in Thunder Bay, but, via pre-order, to remote fly-in and first nations communities. Foodshare partnering with them to get food directly from food terminal to community in James Bay on ON side. So successful, now working on more locations to replicate that same good food market model. Example: Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn (41 yrs. old). Over 15,000 members. Huge supply and demand challenges. Great demand. Sold 50% of all of organic clementines sold in NYC last December. Sales per square footage is 6 x the National average. Very diverse, multi-class and multi-ethnic membership. Abra: Ideal supply-demand model is community-supported agriculture and fisheries. Subscribers attuned to vagaries of supply from outset—part of social and economic contract between the eater and producers. Invites Justin and Dave (NS) to talk about supply demand challenges in community-supported fisheries in NS: Dave: Off the Hook, a community-supported fishery. Membership squared away at beginning of season—fishers know how much need to catch at outset of season. Trick is in scaling that up to access mainstream food system and bring more fishing communities into the network. Need better distribution network to increase reach. Licensing requires that person who caught fish delivers the fish—big burden on fishers themselves—big time commitment-- tricky. Focused on mapping out demand. Many of our small-scale fisheries not operative because not enough market for what they’re doing, can’t get price to cover their costs. Perception that there is not enough demand, so mapping demand to determine what volume of seafood each segment can take. Want to be able to go to fishers to say X need this much fish (e.g.: hospitals, institutions). Q: Can you talk more about how you’re mapping demand and how it’s going? A: Looking at last year’s purchasing records from a group of 15 health providers. Institutions. Other market segments trickier: with chef interviews and questionnaires used. Different market segments require different types of mapping. Q: Does this imply import substitution? A: What we’re really working on is gear-type differentiation. We work with hook and line fishermen. Hospitals purchase on price—caught by draggers is cheapest. We are hoping to streamline the supply chain and ship that supply away from dragger fleet and back towards hook and line. Q: Mostly institutional market vs. individuals? A: Specifically individual consumers up to this point. Now scaling-up value chain for sustainable seafood overall, and trying to work more closely with retailers and institutional procurement folks and regional chefs and retailers and wholesalers across the country. Q: As you move inland – stiffer competition from freshwater fisheries where they claim similarly sustainable practices? A: No, other hat I wear is slow-fish Canada. Those folk are up against similar challenges—we support them too. Abra: Daniel, having recently completed your food hub feasibility study, can you discuss where you’re landed? Are you looking @ bricks and mortar or more virtual? Daniel: Not entirely clear yet. Several suggestions: to focus on relationships and use partnerships to look for infrastructure and distribution side of things. Interest in trying to find software solutions, so that buyers would also have access to a regularly updated database indicating what’s available, expected to be available. Abra to Anne: Maybe you could send info about your software so I could share with the working group after the call? Daniel: Used Local Food Marketplace through our local buying club, and have found it very useful. Pleased with how that software has worked out. Abra: Would you use it for your hub as well? Daniel: Don’t know yet. Would require different set-up. Abra: Q for Anne: How does your software work? Small-scale only, or can it be scaled up for a larger food hub? Anne: Adaptable—no reason why it shouldn’t work for larger food hub. Working continuously to improve features and make this a complete software solution that connects local farmers to consumers. Abra to Terry: Would you speak to matching local production with the market where you are? How will you manage year-round piece if at all? Terry: Focus group that led to creation of Producer’s Co-op looked at many models. Virtual marketplace appears to be best solution for Cowichan Valley. Looking at software options right now. Culture of the valley supports this approach, as does feedback from producers. Looking at European–style virtual market which would allow farmers to know what will be bought, what other farmers are producing, so as not to create overlap. Farmers here often don’t communicate a lot w. each other. This virtual approach would allow expanded communication. S. Vancouver Island very wired-in, computer literate, valley has diverse production. Virtual marketplace and software seems to appeal most to the local farmers and eaters. Co-operative model. Darren:_Would_you_like_to_share_what_key_issues_you’ve_come_across_through_your_work_in_the_area_of_managing_the_challenges_of_supply_and_demand_Darren'>Abra to Darren: Would you like to share what key issues you’ve come across through your work in the area of managing the challenges of supply and demand? Darren: What are the opportunities? Local food in most of Canada is seasonal, but here in BC, with onset of farmers markets opening up in winter, a lot of growers are growing year-round. I think food hubs will take it to the next level again. Now building this assumption into feasibility studies and business plans. Q: Anyone know of any actual case studies in which food hubs are supporting year-round growing? Jason: We found in meeting with local farmers that the problem with winter crop production is storage (not taking on additional costs). Certain regions considering providing storage: Saanich, Salt Spring Island. We’re looking at providing place for storage but where farmer does not take on distribution, as it doesn’t make sense with lower volumes, so we’d take on that role. Abra: In S.E. BC, have discussed collective and collaborative storage, off-site, closer to marketplace. One issue: if going to be storing over winter for multiple months—who has ownership, and who takes loss if spoilage or waste? Can have one crop cascading others into going bad. Jason: This is why we’re focusing on quite a large processing facility, hoping to avoid food waste in our region. Looking at taking both food from food banks and stored farmers’ food and processing it before it reaches spoilage point to avoid waste. Looking at creating several products that they could create via cooperative, or we could make as a house brand. Abra: Eliminating food waste is a very important piece of national food security, and farmers don’t want to risk wasting a great product . Darren: A benefit of food hubs is when you have that central storage; the whole concept of food hubs is aggregation and distribution. Farmer takes ownership of distribution of supply chain, taking control of inventory, amount put through food hub. One idea looking at for small-scale distribution: renting storage. Advantage: scaling up and down according to season and demand. In one case, looking at using storage on farms or renting it somewhere rather than using 4000sq. foot central storage space. One option: using shipping container-based storage—can add more as you go and need arises. Example of this: Farm City Co-op in Vancouver (Richmond), and scaling it up. In CA they had storage in Sacramento—now rent it, because it was too expensive. Don’t even have any trucks—use distributors. Q: Has anyone used or come across those models? A: Red Tomato did something like this. Great model to look at. Wrapping Up Abra: A few people on this call will be attending the Food Hub Conference in North Carolina Please keep eyes and ears open for models to share. Food hub solutions different in rural and urban areas. Distance between farmers a challenge if they were to maintain ownership of stored product—would need to be able to access it, but distance an obstacle, so would need trusted assistance to monitor and ensure spoilage avoided. Situation different in areas with less distance between farms/farmers. Lori: At this point that issue too far ahead from where we are out. Darren: For our farmers, distribution was not a priority issue—marketing and brokering was # 1 concern. Abra: Justin, David and Daniel will be heading to North Carolina: check out the Food Secure Canada food hubs webpage to see Justin and David’s letter about what they’re up to and what they’re hoping to learn at the conference. Q: Would anyone like them to go looking for key pieces of info that would help you with your food hub? Beth: Mathieu D’Astous from NB’s The Really Local Food Co-op in NB is interested in examples of hubs that are serving school populations specifically. As of a year ago they’re serving 23 schools, using an intermediary organization that does the kitchen work and promotion, etc. They’re working to scale that up, so if you come across hubs that are connected to that school market, they’d like to hear more about that/connect with them. Darren: Re: school market: recommends checking out New North Florida Growers co-operative Wrap up: Abra: Next call will be in 2 mths. In May same day and week of the month. Will request report back from those who attended N. Carolina conference: Dave, Justin, Daniel. Mo from Just Food Ottawa and Craig from Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society will also be going. If materials to be shared, may use adobe connect to enable visuals. So stay tuned, info will be up on FSC website in advance of meeting, and I’ll e-mail a week ahead. Moe to Abra: Could you please send e-mail of those attending conference, we could maybe give a couple more requests for conference? Justin: Our e-mail address is in the letter we wrote on FSC website Food hubs page. End of call Food Hubs teleconference Mar14 Page sur Directory: sites sites -> Answer True False 2 points Question 2 sites -> 587 Return function, r i(X) r i(0) r i(1) r i(2) r i(3) 1 0 2 4 6 Thermal Station, I 2 0 1 5 6 3 0 3 5 6 10 sites -> Glossary for Chapter 1 Algorithm sites -> North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with ieps are Being Served Purpose sites -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations sites -> Physical custody of 1033 program property accountibility form statement of Physical Custody: By signing for the below 1033 property I am a Law Enforcement Officer of the aforementioned Law Enforcement Agency sites -> Nstructions for Acquiring Excess Equipment online, through the 1033 Program sites -> Memorandum of agreement Download 44.95 Kb. Share with your friends:
|