Node Development for a Local & Regional Food Distribution System

Commodities

Practices

Farms in northeast Minnesota tend to be smaller and more diversified than the state average, and have less access to large population centers. Farmers' market-based food hubs in Virginia, Grand Rapids, and Aitkin, MN work together to move farmers' food products across this region. The farmers' market hub (FMH) model gives small-scale farmers access to wholesale sales they could not reach on their own. For this network to mature and serve more farmers, we need "nodes," a concept borrowed from the Iowa Food Hub network. Nodes are drop-off and pick-up sites with cold storage capacity, within reach of hub managers and multiple farmers.

Thus far northeast Minnesota hub-to-hub deliveries have been reliant on volunteers. We intend to professionalize it: establish contract language and standard operating procedures (SOPs), appropriate insurance and licensing, and fair compensation guidelines for node hosts. We will establish the nodes with farmer hosts involved in FMH sales so they have a vested interest. Farmer host involvement with shaping and testing the contract language, SOPs, and compensation guidelines will ensure a workable final package for node development, which will be transmitted to other food hubs across Minnesota and beyond.

1. Develop contract language for food hubs to establish nodes on farms.
2. Develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for nodes on farms.
3. Study & obtain liability insurance options for nodes.
4. Add refrigerator and/or freezer capacity to three node sites.
5. Secure appropriate food handler licensing to enable nodes to hold product longer than 24 hours.
6. Test workability of contract language, SOPs, licensing, and insurance with three farmer-hosted nodes.
7. Develop a menu of node options and pricing for fair farmer compensation for hosting a node.