Our Food Hub is a processing center where we aggregate local food, add value to it (through washing, chopping, pureeing, packaging, etc.), and distribute it to stores, restaurants, schools & Food Banks through our large existing network of distributors. Finger Lakes Fresh has been in the agricultural business for several years with our hydroponics greenhouse operation. The Food Hub is a very cost-effective, efficient system that will provide consumers with much better access to local food, support farm stability and agricultural growth, and create over 35 new jobs for people with and without employment barriers over the next three years.
There is an increasingly high regional demand for local food, but until now there has not been an effective, environmentally responsible network for consistently connecting our area farmers to customers. The efficiency of a single “Hub” in our food delivery system will save enormous distribution time and thousands of gallons of fuel each year on transportation. The guaranteed sales our partnerships offer farmers will allow them to anticipate demand for their products and plan for the future. This collaboration will also provide them with access to markets like schools, healthcare facilities, businesses and food banks that they could not reach individually, while providing consumers with reasonably-priced, healthy local products. With additional equipment, value can also be added to produce by creating countless additional products (like tortillas) from regionally-grown corn and wheat.