In It Together: Examining the Role of Food Hub Networks in Supporting Hub-to-Hub Collaborations

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January 22, 2024 - Noel Bielaczyc and Kathryn Colasanti

What is a food hub network? Food Hub networks are groups of food hub businesses and organizations that work collectively to share information or pursue common goals. These networks may be formal or informal and can span multiple counties, a state, or region.  

The 2021 National Food Hub Survey sought to capture, for the first time, the extent to which food hub organizations across the United States are engaged in food hub networks and the nature of their network activities. This brief presents data from the 2021 national Food Hub survey with additional analysis to explore the role that networks play in supporting hub-to-hub collaboration. 

Results from the 2021 National Food Hub Survey indicated that there are many state and regional food hub networks across the United States. These networks are active by engaging with many food hub organizations and supporting a wide range of activities. Food hubs from 26 different states, one Canadian province, and Washington D.C. reported participating in a network. The figure below shows the number of hubs reporting network participation by state.  

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Download the brief to learn more about hub-to-hub transactions, food hub network activities, and challenges to food hubs.   

The National Food Hub Survey is a longitudinal research project conducted biennially since 2012. The 2021 National Food Hub Survey was conducted by CRFS in collaboration with the University of Michigan Program Evaluation Group (PEG) and the Wallace Center at Winrock International. 

To further explore the data collected from the over 100 responses from across the country, CRFS and PEG developed two complementary briefs:  

 

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