NORTH COAST, Calif. – The MendoLake Food Hub is accepting orders and delivering local produce to local restaurants and retailers.
Hundreds of food hubs have sprung up around the country in an effort to meet the growing demand for locally produced food.
“Our local farmers are struggling to compete with industrial-scale producers who ship massive quantities of cheap produce from afar,” said MendoLake Food Hub Coordinator John Bailey. “We know the community wants to support local farmers. The Food Hub is working to foster local relationships, reduce marketing and distribution expenses, and provide assistance to help our farmers build and grow their businesses. After months of work we’re excited to be up and running.”
The MendoLake Food Hub is a project initiated by North Coast Opportunities and is funded by a three-year USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant.
A specialty crop is defined as fruits, vegetables, herbs, tree nuts, honey, olives and olive oil and nursery plants, in contrast to commodity crops like grains, soybeans, and sugar beets.
These USDA grants are designed to help specialty crop producers be more competitive in their local markets.
The MendoLake Food Hub aims to connect local buyers – like restaurants, grocery stores, schools, and buying clubs– with specialty crop farmers in the area.
The food hub manages aggregation, storage and distribution for local farms by acting as hub between producer and consumer.
Many small farmers and ranchers are challenged by the lack of distribution – especially in counties as geographically large as Mendocino and Lake.
Addressing distribution helps open markets for producers – and it allows local stores and restaurants to carry more local produce.
Via a Web-based system, food producers upload the produce they have available for sale. Buyers then select from the available crops and place their order.
After receiving the order, farmers drop their produce at their closest available cold storage “node.” These refrigerated containers are strategically placed throughout Mendocino and Lake counties including locations in Ukiah, Willits, the Coast, Lakeport and Anderson Valley.
A partnership with Mendocino Coast Produce, a Fort Bragg-based distribution company, has been forged. They pick up the produce from the nodes and are reserving space for 100 cases of produce on each truck, piggybacking on the company’s existing distribution network.
Local farmers participating include Lovin’ Mama, Covelo Organic, Irene’s Garden, Sky Hoyt, Fortunate Farm, Black Dog and Seely’s Farm Stand, and more are being added every week.
Buyers so far include Harvest Market in both Fort Bragg and Mendocino, Ukiah Co-op, Taste Buds, Saucy and Patrona.
In addition, Lake County Public Health is purchasing through the Hub for their Harvest of the Month program.
The number of producers and buyers is expected to climb in the coming weeks.
If you are interested in participating in the food hub as a farmer, a business who wants to purchase local crops or an individual who wants to organize a group to purchase in bulk quantities, please visit www.MendoLakeFoodHub.com , or contact John Bailey at 707-467-3238 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .