In Washington State, one in nine people – and one in six children – face hunger on a regular basis. Feeding America says that equals nearly 900,000 of our colleagues, neighbors, fellow students and friends. Locally the Southwest Washington Food Hub is a farmer-owned and -operated cooperative that aggregates and distributes food across Pierce, Thurston, Lewis, Grays Harbor, Mason, and Pacific counties. Thanks to support and dedicated community partners, they’re helping families put healthy, locally-grown meals on the table each and every day.
The Southwest Washington Food Hub: Local Farmers Feeding Local Families
The Hub’s Interim Manager is Tina Sharp, whose official title is Regional Agriculture Development Manager for the Thurston Economic Development Council (EDC). The EDC recently received a Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) grant from the USDA with the Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative as a sub-recipient. As such, the EDC has essentially loaned Sharp to the Food Hub for the duration of the grant.
Before transitioning to a career in agriculture, Sharp spent more than 20 years in the medical field. “While my main focus is helping the Food Hub sell its products,” Sharp explains, “my background prompts me to seek ways to promote health along the way, through programs like our Workplace Wellness Farmshare program.”
Though she’s lived in Thurston County since childhood, Sharp says she had no idea how much food was grown locally until she joined the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council and later the Thurston EDC. “This created a passion in me to connect our community, local farm producers and local businesses,” says Sharp. “We could build a robust local supply chain, and in our community local farmers and local businesses would benefit from local fresh food options. This position allows us to make that hope a reality.”
Getting Healthy, Fresh Ingredients from Farm-to-Table to Cafeterias Across Western Washington
Items from the Food Hub are distributed in many different ways. The Hub has also participated in a Direct to Food Banks Program which helped farmers sell produce directly to food banks. They also work with school districts on student meals.
“Local schools are recipients of the WSDA Farm to School Purchasing Grant,” explains Sharp. “The Hub offers a one-stop online shop for the volume and variety of foods school districts need, with procurement, aggregation and delivery conveniently handled by the Hub. This benefits regional farmer members who otherwise would be unable to offer sufficient variety and volumes on their own. As with all our sales channels, the Food Hub takes care of securing the contracts, procuring weekly orders, delivery to the school districts and leaves the farmer free to focus on farming.”
Farmers, ranchers and other producers can find the application forms in English and Spanish or reach out to sales@swwafoodhub.com with questions about joining up.
Food Hub Produce Subscriptions Are Available So Sign Up Today for Fresh, Tasty Local Delicacies
Everyone is invited to sign up for one of two different produce subscription plans available to the public, encourages Sharp. These come with a weekly box of seasonal specialties and can be customized to swap out or add additional items as needed. Sign up for the winter boxes at the Southwest Washington Food Hub website today!
“Anyone can sign up for our Multi-Farm Share and then pick up their box in one of ten local businesses located in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Rochester, Centralia and Chehalis,” says Sharp. “People can enjoy a drink or snack with friends while picking up their weekly produce box. The Hub also partners with area employers to offer a Workplace Wellness Farmshare program, which also provides nutrition education through newsletters, videos and webinars. Participating employers include city, county and state government offices as well as two local colleges.”
The fall/winter season runs from November 7 through January 30 so sign up today or pencil in a reminder to enroll when spring 2025 rolls around. Items are collected from more than 20 local farms and come with meal planning and recipe advice.
Shop and Dine Local from the Comfort of Home Thanks to the Southwest Washington Food Hub
Subscription boxes from the Food Hub support both the growers and the Hub’s mission overall. Local businesses can help by becoming a drop site for the program, employers can sign up to bring the Workplace Wellness Farmshare to their jobsite, and school districts, restaurants and stores can purchase ingredients directly from the Hub to help continue their vital work.
Supporting the Southwest Washington Food Hub is crucial for producers. “The monopoly local wholesalers have on prices is artificially keeping wholesale produce prices low, and is the main reason local farms are struggling to stay in business,” says Annie Salafsky, former owner of Helsing Junction Farm in Rochester and currently working for WSU Thurston Extension and serving on the Food Hub’s Technical Advisory Team. “The Hub functions as a wholesale outlet, but farmers can set their own prices, and the Hub adds less of a markup than most other retailers. Over 85% of the Hub’s expenditures are payments for farmers.”
You can follow the Food Hub on Facebook and Instagram or contact them with questions. Then sign up to support the Food Hub’s vision in whatever way you’re able so local famers, farmers and families can keep food on the table.
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