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. 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;

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

   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 revised its work plan in the face of the following obstacles: (1) the dissolution of the Clean Food Network, a network of small family farmers which had originally committed to the project; (2) the departure and lack of replacements of food service directors or sustainability officers at Huntsville Hospital and other key institutional buyers; (3) the closure of the Producers/Buyers Cooperative, a promising model the partnership had investigated; and (4) the recent passage of Alabama’s immigration law which led to an exodus of farm workers and created uncertainty about the future of vegetable production among Alabama growers. We not only identified key obstacles to local food purchases by institutions through interviews and research but also experienced these obstacles first hand.

Despite the challenges, the partnership initiated a new development plan including (1) outreach (predominately on-site farm visits) to 9 small to mid-size producers including grass-fed beef ranchers; (2) outreach to 14 institutional buyers and 3 food service contractors identifying possible products and volumes of local sales; and (3) the engagement of Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Alabama Cooperative Extension and Auburn University.

The partnership also expanded its research of consumer trends, value chains and promising farm-to-institution models such as the Fifth Season, a multi-stakeholder cooperative, Red Tomato, Country Natural Beef, La Montanita Food Cooperative’s distribution arm and Foodlink, a food bank in Rochester, New York utilizing its infrastructure to assist local farmers’ ability to service institutional markets.

From this research, the partnership developed a presentation targeted to corporate senior administrators, food service contractors, corporate wellness and sustainability officers as well as farmers and ranchers. The presentation highlights (1) why a robust local food economy is in the best interest of corporations and the community at large; (2) consumer trends valuing local foods; (3) healthcare trends regarding local food procurement; (3) barriers to institutional purchases including price, infrastructure, volume/consistency of supply, and differences in the business models between institutions and local farms; (4) successful models of institutional buying; (5) key elements of value chains vs. conventional supply chains and (6) lessons learned from failed institutional buying projects.

We also compiled resources for stakeholders including a set of case studies of successful models, samples of local food procurement policies and food standards agreements.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

From the outreach to producers, six out of nine producers demonstrated the capacity for institutional sales and committed to the project. From the outreach to institutional buyers, 11 out of 14 institutional buyers agreed to participate in the project. The Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries endorsed the initiative, and staff from the Alabama Department of Agriculture as well as extension agents attend project meetings. As a result of outreach, Auburn University has collaborated with the Food Bank of North Alabama on a grant proposal to investigate the feasibility of restructuring the Food Bank’s existing infrastructure to act as a food hub for institutional sales of local foods.

In February the partnership hosted the inaugural meeting of the initiative now called the “North Alabama Farm Food Collaborative.” We presented the SARE-sponsored research to twenty-one stakeholders including farmers, ranchers, senior corporate administrators, chefs, food service directors, restaurateurs, cooperative extension agents and Alabama’s Commissioner of Agriculture and staff members. The stakeholders agreed to form a working group and planned a subsequent meeting to determine long-term goals and short-term objectives this spring.

Another presentation to health professionals regarding the SARE-sponsored research is planned later this month.

Prior to its dissolution, members of the Clean Food Network also presented information about the Producers/Buyers Cooperative at the SSWAG conference in January 2011.

Collaborators: