Harvest Hub / Farm to Freezer ProjectsAfter grocery store shelves were left empty as our national food system failed during the Covid-19 outbreak and local infrastructure proved to be inadequate to meet our area’s needs, NCGA has been participating in a local movement to create a more vibrant local food system by increasing food infrastructure and collaboration between food focused businesses. In collaboration with the Humboldt Food Policy Council, UC Cooperative Extension, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Del Norte and Tribal Lands Community Food Council, Humboldt Made, Food for People, Humboldt County Office of Education and more, NCGA is working to implement a food hub. |
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The USDA defines a food hub as "a centrally located facility with a business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, and/or marketing of locally/regionally produced food products" Locally, NCGA's goal is to make it easier for stores, restaurants, and institutions like schools to access our members' food by coordinating the ordering and distribution aspect of locally grown and raised food while also providing support to local farms to be able to increase their growing capacity and sustainability of their farm businesses. |
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Chris from Woody Ryno Farm acknowledges “to collectively own such a critical piece of infrastructure will greatly improve our membership’s ability to plan and grow their businesses knowing they have safe and secure storage facilities for the quality products they raise on their farms or ranches. Working together we can ensure that we build a secure food system for the North Coast community and continue to provide the highest quality meats, fruits, and vegetables throughout the year.”
Buying local food keeps more money in our economy (read our economic impact report HERE)
- When food is purchased from a local farm, it is reinvested with other local stores before leaving the area
- Most money spent on food that comes from out of the area immediately leaves the county
- Local farms create jobs
- Food hubs create jobs
Local food doesn't need to travel as far to its destination, so has less impact on our climate
- All of NCGA's farms are located in Humboldt County
- By aggregating (collecting from multiple farms in one location) food at the food hub before distribution, there will be less delivery vehicles on the road heading to each store and restaurant
There is generally less time between the harvest and consumption of local food, so it is more nutrient dense
- Farmers usually pick produce within 1 day of local distribution
- When that produce must be shipped in from out of the area, it takes upwards of 5 days to get to your plate
If we can grow and raise more food locally, we will be less dependent on deliveries from out of the area so are less vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and have more resources on hand during emergency situations
- Currently, most of NCGA members only grow what they know they can sell at the farmers' market and other small wholesale accounts
- By making it easier for local businesses to access this food, a food hub will create more demand, allowing for farmers to grow more food and allowing for smaller farms to grow their businesses more quickly
- NCGA is a member of Humboldt's Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD), a group of local emergency response organizations who plan and execute emergency feeding programs (like the Red Cross and Food for People) in order to reduce the time between an emergency event and when community members have access to food, as well as help provide food after the event is over, when many community members are still vulnerable and working to recover
"Local Resilience on the North Coast"
A video by Katherine Nunes-Siciliani about the needs of the North Coast's food system and how the Harvest Hub will help increase resiliency and food security in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties
What does the growth of this project look like?
In April of 2021, Humboldt Bay Packers (a cold storage rental facility in Humboldt) decided to shutter its business and gave its tenants notice that they needed to rehome their products. NCGA members scrambled to find a location where they could rehome their frozen products. After contacting numerous local companies and even starting to look at spaces outside of Humboldt for an emergency solution, it became apparent that our local cold storage infrastructure was unreliable and had insufficient capacity to meet local food storage needs. In order to deprivatize local food infrastructure to make Humboldt’s local food system more resilient, NCGA (a membership based organization) will purchase a freezer unit.
This freezer is one of the first steps we are taking to create a reliable, secure local food system.
NCGA’s goal with the purchase of a freezer unit for our members is to de-privatize local food infrastructure. By creating collectively owned and operated food structures and businesses, our region can rely less on for profit businesses who usually make decisions that best suit their bottom line and not the health of our local community.
What does a freezer unit mean for NCGA’s members and our local community?
1. Our meat producers can continue to run the businesses they’ve grown over the years without fear that another independently owned business will close, leaving them and their livelihoods in dire straights.
2. Our produce farmers can freeze fruits and veggies during the height of the growing season to be processed during the winter when they have more time. That means they can bring you a greater abundance of jams, jellies, dried fruit, and more!
3. Future generations of meat producers can begin their journey without needing to have access to large amounts of capital to invest in their own freezers.
4. By increasing local meat production, our community can rely less on large scale meat producers whose products are shipped in from across the country and world. This will lessen Humbldt’s carbon footprint and strengthen our local economy!
1. Our meat producers can continue to run the businesses they’ve grown over the years without fear that another independently owned business will close, leaving them and their livelihoods in dire straights.
2. Our produce farmers can freeze fruits and veggies during the height of the growing season to be processed during the winter when they have more time. That means they can bring you a greater abundance of jams, jellies, dried fruit, and more!
3. Future generations of meat producers can begin their journey without needing to have access to large amounts of capital to invest in their own freezers.
4. By increasing local meat production, our community can rely less on large scale meat producers whose products are shipped in from across the country and world. This will lessen Humbldt’s carbon footprint and strengthen our local economy!
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With help from a mini grant from the Headwaters Fund, NCGA successfully met our fundraising goal of $25,000 to purchase a freezer If you would like to make a tax deductible donation for the food hub, please make checks payable to NCGA and send to PO Box 4232, Arcata CA 95518 |
We'd like to extend a HUGE thank you to American Ag Credit who has
not only supported the Farm to Freezer project, but also supports small
family farmers across the country
American Ag Credit
www.agloan.com
Bayside Garden Supply
4061 Hwy 101 #6
Eureka, CA 95503
Locally Delicious
PO Box 309
Arcata, CA 95518
Community Donors: Danny Sokolsky and Elaine Astrue |
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North Coast Co-op
811 I St
Arcata, CA 95521
-and-
25 4th St
Eureka, CA 95503
Individual donors over $500:
Doug and Donna Trekell
An anonymous donation from a passionate supporter of regenerative agriculture and real
food alternatives to conventional, factory farmers meat #longlivelocal
Doug and Donna Trekell
An anonymous donation from a passionate supporter of regenerative agriculture and real
food alternatives to conventional, factory farmers meat #longlivelocal
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NCGA is a 501 c(3) nonprofit organization who has always been dedicated to providing Humboldt with high quality, locally produced food to increase our community’s health and food security. Please join us in this mission by making a tax deductible donation today! Questions? Contact megan@northcoastgrowersassociation.org |
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