Food hubs and CSAs can fill food supply gaps

Southeast Montana is blessed with talented gardeners and producers, and garden season is right around the corner. When planning for vegetable or flower garden season this year, think about how value can be added by joining or creating a food hub or CSA group in the area. Billings area producers have had great success in creating new CSAs and a food hub that are good sources to reach out to for information.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) and food hubs have been in existence since the early 1970s and have been a growing trend to many, especially over the last year. When COVID-19 began, the United States was hit with the reality that food supply chains were not as stable as once thought. People suddenly had to become dependent on what was available at the store or to make do with what they had at home already. Gardeners made their gardens bigger, chicks were sold out at the local farm store, and bread was being baked in kitchens again. The U.S. also saw that there was a shortage of meat processors to process local producer’s animals. This, in turn, forced the state government into creating a grant program to help encourage expansions of existing facilities or assist new ones to open.

With the ever-increasing food supply shortages, CSAs began popping up. A CSA individual farm, or group of farms, is a membership-driven way that small to medium farms can sell directly to consumers. There are many advantages to a farm creating or joining a CSA. Pre-selling food helps the farm to plan out their growing season and receive payments early to help with cash flow. Consumers also have the ability to visit the farm to develop a relationship with the farmer and see where and how their food is grown. There are a multitude of farm products that are offered in CSAs; produce, eggs, bread, meat, cheese, fruit, flowers and other farm products.

When the consumer buys a membership into the CSA, they are also partnering with the farmer on the risks that can occur during the growing season such as drought, hail or other weather-related challenges that are not in the farmer’s control.

Being exposed to locally grown food is a great benefit to families. When a family joins a CSA, the children often tend to eat more vegetables and fruits they may not normally be exposed to and often the fruits and vegetables are more flavorful than that of commercially grown.

In addition to CSAs, food hub creations and expansions have also taken place. A food hub is a business in a structured facility that pulls small to medium farms together in a centrally located space and provides a distribution center for them, as well as marketing of locally produced food products. They bring in a large volume of products for specific consumer needs. Food hubs support local food systems and food availability while also promoting entrepreneurship and helping with food insecurities. On average a food hub creates 13 direct jobs and many indirect jobs. Right now, there are about 236 food hubs in the United States.

To diversify a farm’s income sources, they may have their own CSA and partner with a food hub. When a CSA and a food hub partner, it can be a benefit to both. The CSA provides the products while the food hub facilitates the ordering, marketing and distribution of the products. They would do this by the CSA selling their “extra” shares they were not able to sell prior to the growing season. A CSA could also evolve into becoming a producer member of the food hub and selling all products through the food hub and having only one revenue source.

Eastern Plains Economic Development Corporation has expanded and now supports food and agriculture development in the region with Alissa Miller as the Food and Agriculture Development Assistant. EPEDC serves Carter, Fallon, Wibaux, Dawson and Prairie counties. Partnering with EPEDC can be a great way to expand an operation or create something new. Miller can help with grant writing, business planning, training, agritourism or farm to school programs. Anyone with food and agriculture business or training ideas can call or email Miller at (406) 852-3735 or fada@epedc.com.