Food and Farm Hub Feasibility Plan
The Squamish Food Policy Council (SFPC) and the District of Squamish (DoS) are developing a Squamish to Lillooet Food and Farm Hub Feasibility Plan (the Plan). Learn more about the project here.
The purpose of the Plan is to understand the circumstances under which, and with what components, a food and farm hub(s) would work in the Squamish to Lillooet region. A regional scope is being applied to support a thriving local food economy that aims to shorten the supply chain by considering the needs and addressing the current barriers farmers and food businesses are facing.
What is a Food and Farm Hub?
A food and farm hub provides a network of food and farm infrastructure and programming within a region to strengthen the area's local food economy. It can involve the collaboration of farmers, processors, distributors, retailers, supporting organizations, and consumers to aggregate and distribute resources to make food available and/or increase the strength of the related supply-chains in each area.
We envision a future food and farm hub(s) as a network of nodes and infrastructure that support the diverse needs of the region to establish a strengthened food system.
What information are we collecting and why?
The purpose of the survey is to collect data from current agriculture and agri-food businesses in the region to understand: 1) current factors constraining the organizations’ ability to grow, and 2) hard and soft infrastructure needs to enable the organization to grow. The data collected will be publicly available and used to inform what infrastructure components are needed to establish a feasible food and farm hub (or hubs) in the Squamish to Lillooet region. This information will be presented as a final business case with recommendations for implementation.
The survey also aims to gather to gather information on the processors’ innovation related activities, goals, and obstacles. The data collected will be publicly available and presented as a business case with recommendations for implementation.
If you have any questions or prefer not to complete the survey online and are seeking alternative options, please contact Gabriela, Food Systems Manager at the SFPC, at gabriela@squamishcan.net.
Take the survey here.
The purpose of the Plan is to understand the circumstances under which, and with what components, a food and farm hub(s) would work in the Squamish to Lillooet region. A regional scope is being applied to support a thriving local food economy that aims to shorten the supply chain by considering the needs and addressing the current barriers farmers and food businesses are facing.
What is a Food and Farm Hub?
A food and farm hub provides a network of food and farm infrastructure and programming within a region to strengthen the area's local food economy. It can involve the collaboration of farmers, processors, distributors, retailers, supporting organizations, and consumers to aggregate and distribute resources to make food available and/or increase the strength of the related supply-chains in each area.
We envision a future food and farm hub(s) as a network of nodes and infrastructure that support the diverse needs of the region to establish a strengthened food system.
What information are we collecting and why?
The purpose of the survey is to collect data from current agriculture and agri-food businesses in the region to understand: 1) current factors constraining the organizations’ ability to grow, and 2) hard and soft infrastructure needs to enable the organization to grow. The data collected will be publicly available and used to inform what infrastructure components are needed to establish a feasible food and farm hub (or hubs) in the Squamish to Lillooet region. This information will be presented as a final business case with recommendations for implementation.
The survey also aims to gather to gather information on the processors’ innovation related activities, goals, and obstacles. The data collected will be publicly available and presented as a business case with recommendations for implementation.
If you have any questions or prefer not to complete the survey online and are seeking alternative options, please contact Gabriela, Food Systems Manager at the SFPC, at gabriela@squamishcan.net.
Take the survey here.
Phase One
In the first phase of the project during Fall 2021, we reached out to community members, food producers, and farmers in the Squamish to Lillooet region to assess community enthusiasm for such a project. We recieved a total of 278 responses.
Key Findings
Learn more about the survey results in the video below or check out the full Survey Report here.
In the first phase of the project during Fall 2021, we reached out to community members, food producers, and farmers in the Squamish to Lillooet region to assess community enthusiasm for such a project. We recieved a total of 278 responses.
Key Findings
- 73% of survey respondents are supportive of the development of a Squamish to Lillooet online Farm Hub
- ‘Decreasing reliance on imported products’, ‘strengthening the direct relationship between producer and consumer’, and ‘improving the convenience of sourcing local fresh foods’ were identified as the most important changes to the food system that the Squamish to Lillooet community would like to see
- Affordability and convenience were identified as the two most important concerns from farmers, purchasers, and residents alike, and should be focused on in the future feasibility study of a Squamish to Lillooet online Farm Hub
Learn more about the survey results in the video below or check out the full Survey Report here.