‘Food hub’ serves as logistics center for small produce growers, seen as first of trend
‘Food hub’ serves as logistics center for small produce growers, seen as first of trend
GrowFood Carolina started in 2011 in a renovated warehouse in Charleston, SC. As the first so-called “food hub” in the state, it connects growers within a 120-mile radius to supermarkets, restaurants and foodservice institutions, serving as a wholesale logistics center for local produce. Martin Eubanks, SC Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture, views it as a harbinger of things to come.
Eubanks hopes his department can help set up four to six hubs and many more key “food nodes” to supply the hubs for efficient logistics around the state. Eubanks cited GrowFood Carolina in the Charleston area as an example of the hub system.
Sara D. Clow, who was brought in as general manager of the start-up by the Coastal Conservation League, a nonprofit acting as incubator for GrowFood, told The Produce News that the operation has grown from five farmers to 55. Produce is being shipped year-round, she said, to about 140 supermarkets, restaurants, caterers and other customers. Whole Foods, Earth Fare and Harris Teeter are among its supermarket customers. GrowFood plans to be financially in the black by 2017 and will reach its sales goal of $660,000 for 2014, Clow said.
One advantage GrowFood Carolina offers, according to Clow, is that produce doesn’t have to spend days on ships or refrigerated trucks before reaching the buyer, which makes it fresher on arrival and also cuts down on transportation costs. Importantly, it enables small farmers to tap into new markets and earn more profits, which creates jobs and keeps more money in local communities.
A native of the Garden State, Clow’s love of fresh produce started in her mom’s vegetable garden. After a liberal arts degree at Vanderbilt University, project management in Colorado and hedge fund finance in San Francisco, she found her way back to produce working for organic tree fruit growers at Pacific Organic Produce and Purity Organic. She relocated to Charleston because she thinks local food hubs are “the most important movement in sustainable agriculture since the National Organic Program.”
