USDA/AMS Launches Food Hub Operator’s Toolkit

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has launched “Many Hats – A Food Hub Operator’s Toolkit,” a central resource to support food hub leaders.

The toolkit was developed through a partnership with the University of Vermont and Michigan State University to build upon existing knowledge of food hubs and understand the many roles of food hub operators, from start up, to expansion, to innovation.

The project team assembled an advisory board of experienced food hub operators and industry professionals across the nation that helped develop the toolkit, which is organized into four areas – organizational development, producers and customers, operations, and partnerships. Accompanying the toolkit is a four-episode podcast series with interviews from food hub leaders.

Through research in food hubs and other local and regional food system issues, AMS says it helps support the viability, profitability and future market opportunities for American farmers.

A food hub, as defined by the USDA, is “a centrally located facility with a business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, distributions and/or marketing of locally/regionally produced food products,” and that includes some processing operations.