USDA grant opens doors for Food Hub, area farmers

A new grant from the US Department of Agriculture will equip the Puget Sound Food Hub on Best Road to increase food security for families in northwest Washington.

The Food Hub’s 80 member-producers will also benefit. Using funds from the USDA Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, they will supply 3,000 boxes of fresh food a week for the Bellingham Food Bank and other organizations in the northwest Washington food relief system.

For 90 days, Viva Farms and Ralph’s Greenhouse will supply 2,000 boxes of their produce, and the Food Hub will prepare 1000 boxes a week from goods grown by other member-growers.

“Right now, 200 boxes per week are headed to the Lummi Food Bank, filled with all kinds of greens and fresh herbs,” said Max Morange, Emerging Projects Coordinator for the Bellingham Food Bank. “Later deliveries will head to smaller, more rural food banks in Whatcom County with high need. Some boxes will go to Skagit Community Action in August.”

“It’s a great marriage of small farmers who need sales outlets and the demand for hunger relief and nutritious local food,” said Food Hub General Manager Andrew Yokom.

Out of the parking lot and into the potato shed

When the farmer-owned cooperative started in the parking lot of the Skagit Valley Food Coop, “it was basically a carpool,” says Harley Soltes of Bow Hill Blueberries.

“Everybody was driving to Seattle, calling on all the Haggen stores, and trying to get access to places that didn’t want to buy direct from a bunch of small farmers.”

Pooling their products helped local farmers reach more customers and spend less time delivering and handling accounts receivables.

Today the Food Hub’s 12 employees cover tasks once done by volunteers. Now located in the former potato shed owned by John Christianson, it is continually adding producers and building markets for its members.

“We give small producers the opportunity to sell to customers they wouldn’t have access to,” says Yokom. “Customers know that anything they buy from us supports local agriculture. They can buy from two, six, or 12 farms at once, receive all that food at once, and pay just one invoice.”

Adds Soltes, “Customers get clean food in closed boxes, delivered in refrigerated trucks that follow high food safety protocols. It ups your game no matter how big your farm is.”

Growing producer pool

Sales manager Mark Whims has grown the list of member-producers to include producers of pies, meats, kombucha, fresh juices and other products that can be sold year round. Cairnspring Mills, Lummi Island Wild and Lopez Island Creamery are now on the roster.

The customer list has also diversified and includes Peace Health, the Gates Foundation, Google, Amazon cafes and Facebook.

During the recent lockdown, strong demand from retail clients like Haggen’s, The Market, and regional food coops offset lost orders from closed schools and shuttered restaurants.

“In March, places like the PCC stores in Seattle started panicking, and everything we had was selling out the same day,” remembers John Vanderwal, Farm Manager for Ralph’s Greenhouse on Calhoun Road. “We couldn’t grow enough to keep it on the shelf.”

Ralph’s, Hedlin Family Farms and other member-producers kept making deliveries every Monday and Thursday. The Food Hub brought their produce to anxious customers every Wednesday and Friday.

“Our farmers are qualified as specialty crop producers who grow for local and regional markets, not commodity-scale for long-range distribution,” says Yokom. “The pandemic confirmed the resilience of the short, local food supply chain. Food Hub sales are up tremendously overall.”

For Ralph’s Greenhouse, belonging to the Food Hub means not having to maintain a fleet of delivery trucks and drivers.

“Ray deVries always told our customers, if you want our stuff, you have to show up with a truck,” said Vanderwal. “With the Food Hub we can get our produce way south, way north, all the way to the islands, without ever having to actually deliver.”

“It’s awesome to be able to deliver to Best Road and they take it from there.”