Producers/Buyers Cooperative: Linking Family Farms and Institutions

Producers/Buyers Cooperative: Linking Family Farms and Institutions

Summary

The Food Bank of North Alabama and Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network are facilitating a partnership among rural farmers and urban institutions to identify and solve barriers to local food purchases by institutional buyers. Through educating key stakeholders on successful models such as the Producers/Buyers Cooperative founded by Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the partnership plans to lay the foundation for an entity in North Alabama that will foster a mutually beneficial business relationship among rural producers, distributors, processors and urban institutions.

Objectives/Performance Targets

1. (1) Research successful models of institutional local food purchases including a Producers/Buyers cooperative in Eau Claire, WI and educate key stakeholders, particularly institutional buyers, about these operations;

   (2) Identify and address key barriers to local food purchases by institutional buyers such as hospitals, corporate cafeterias, nursing homes, universities and schools;

   (3) Foster a mutually beneficial business relationship among rural, local producers and urban institutions that results in local institutions locally sourcing a percentage of their food purchases.

Accomplishments/Milestones

The partnership conducted phone interviews with commercial and institutional buyers around Alabama to assess the interest in local food purchasing and any barriers to making that happen. Over fifty restaurants, groceries, schools and other institutions in Alabama were contacted, including many that were already purchasing product from local farms. Some were satisfied with their current level of purchasing, but many said that they would be interested in purchasing more local foods. The interviewees identified a number of specific products that they would be interested in purchasing; unfortunately the demand was not very uniform and ranged from chicken to French green beans to raw milk. The buyers also identified consistency of product as a key concern, and appearance was an issue for grocery stores. While the interest in local purchases was evident, the logistics of purchasing a variety of products from a number of farms on a regular basis appear to be a challenge.

The partnership also conducted some preliminary research and interviews with local farmers to assess the volume of production in North Alabama that could be tapped into for local distribution. In the eight-county area around Huntsville, the 2007 USDA Census of Agriculture reported 13,600 farms and ranches, with over 300 farms growing almost 5000 acres of vegetables and ranches in the area raising almost 300,000 head of cattle. The census report also identified 90,000 acres of cotton and over 400 million chickens, mainly broilers, raised on larger farms for the international market. ASAN staff interviewed local farmers, extension agents and others to identify specific crops that could be produced in the region in quantity for larger-volume markets. Growers in the region grow a variety of vegetables including sweet potatoes, tomatoes, corn, squash, and okra, and appeared interested in growing for the local market given a trustworthy buyer and fair price.

Finally, examples of distribution systems for local foods were identified and researched, including non-profits, cooperatives, and corporate/ LLC models. Local and national examples include the Producers-Buyers Cooperative, Good-Natured Family Farms, Red Tomato, Appalachian Sustainable Development, the New North Florida Cooperative, and Moore Farms and Friends.

To further this research, the partnership organized and participated in a two day site visit to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to learn about the Producer/Buyers cooperative’s operation, challenges and successes. Six team members participated in the site visit that included tours and interviews with all categories of the cooperative member stakeholders across the supply chain:

Producer Members: S&D Produce of Flower Farm, Promise Farm Buffalo and Bullfrog Farm;

Institutional Buyer Member: The CEO of Sacred Heart Hospital and the Director of Hospitality Services conducted an in-depth presentation of the founding and operation of the Producers/Buyers Cooperative.

Processor Member: Gunderson Foods meat processor

Distributor Member:Family Farms Inc.

Supporting Organizations: Just Local Food Co-op; Menomonie Market Food Co-op has created a soup broth from unwanted chicken backs and necks that Sacred Heart Hospital accumulates from its purchase of local poultry. Partial proceeds from the broth sales will nurture the local food infrastructure.

Technical Advisor:Dennis Deery who devised the Producers/Buyers Cooperative’s virtual office.

Topics covered include cooperative membership requirements, produce certification requirements (such as using SafeServ and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) protocols), board operations, bylaws, diverse perspectives, needs and requirements of each stakeholder, order process, employee challenges, virtual office development and operation.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

We are in the process of developing a short paper outlining the various models of institutional buying and how they operate. A value chain map was also developed for the region based on the above research. Members of the Clean Food Network, a network of local farmers partnering on the project, intend to present information about the Producers/Buyers Cooperative at the SSWAG conference in January 2011.

The partnership also convened in-person meetings with Huntsville Hospital’s Director of Food & Nutrition Service and other key food service staff. As a result of these efforts, Huntsville Hospital’s Director of Food and Nutrition Service verbally committed to purchase $200,000 worth of local foods starting with salad greens through a network of local of partners called the Clean Food Network. To date, however, the Clean Food Network is experiencing obstacles impeding their ability to provide the Hospital with key information required for actual sales to occur.

Based on these developments, the main partners are planning to convene a working group of institutional buyers to characterize a defined market for growers as well as identify key institutional stakeholders willing to pursue the most appropriate buying structure for North Alabama in order to overcome the obstacles impeding local food purchases.

• Producers/Buyers Cooperative site visit at Sacred Heart Hospital
• Promise Farm Buffalo, member Producers/Buyers Coop
• Tour of Flower Farm
• presentation by Rick Beckler, Director of Hospitality Services, Sacred Heart Hospital
• Gunderson Foods, meat processor coop member

Collaborators: