ANCA grant facilitates creation of new food hub

WINTHROP | In our rural region of northern New York, where access to local food is often limited by remoteness, transportation costs, a short growing season, and other challenges, a new food hub will help bridge the gap between local farms and consumers. The Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) has been awarded a grant to build a processing and retail facility that will expand local food access as well as markets for North Country farms and food businesses. Led by Cherie and Dan Whitten of Whitten Family Farm in Winthrop and the ADK Food Hub in Tupper Lake, the project will create a NY 20-C–licensed retail store and processing kitchen in Winthrop, called the Real Food Hub. The $520,640 project is largely supported by a $468,576 grant from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets' Food Access Expansion Program, with construction slated to begin this spring. "We are thrilled to be establishing this new food hub with the Whittens, who are an indispensable force in our local food system," said Jon Ignatowski, ANCA's manager of food systems business. "The Real Food Hub is going to catalyze the local food economy in the northwest corner of our region, resulting in more market opportunities for small farms and increased food access for residents in four counties. "This project will reduce food insecurity and significantly increase the resiliency of our food system," he said. "We are grateful to New York's Ag and Markets for recognizing this critical need in our region and for providing funding to support this effort." Located in close proximity to dozens of small farms and food businesses, the new facility will reduce transportation costs and allow producers to process and store large quantities of vegetables that can be sold at retail establishments consistently throughout the year. The Real Food Hub will support a wide variety of raw and value-added local foods to be sold at competitive pricing in convenient locations across the region. The goal is to make it easier for North Country residents, including underserved and disadvantaged households, to purchase fresh and nutritious local foods at an affordable price. "By streamlining processing, storage and delivery systems, this facility will expand markets for farmers and increase the availability of local products in stores," Cherie Whitten said. "It will ultimately make local food more affordable and accessible for all residents, including those who are shopping on a tight budget or through nutrition assistance programs." Founded by the Whittens in 2017, the ADK Food Hub in Tupper Lake is a local food aggregation site, market and eatery that carries products from over 40 area farms and markets raw and processed products directly to consumers. Whitten Family Farm supplies the Hub and offers vegetable and meat community supported agriculture (CSA) shares that can be picked up at the farm or at pickup locations in Potsdam, Massena, Lake Clear, Saranac Lake, Lake Placid and Tupper Lake. The Whittens have also worked closely with ANCA and its Compost for Good program to develop community-scale composting operations on their farm. Their facility accepts food waste from area residents and institutions and turns it into nutrient-rich compost for use in local farms and gardens. The Whittens offer composting tours and workshops for groups interested in implementing projects in their communities. "Cherie and Dan work tirelessly to improve our region's food systems, literally from the ground up," said Jennifer Perry, ANCA Organics Recycling Coordinator and co-founder of Compost for Good. "From their innovative composting facility to this exciting new food hub, and other projects in between, ANCA has been honored to support the Whittens in creating opportunities that connect North Country food producers with local communities. We are so excited to see this transformational project break ground later this year."

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ANCA grant facilitates creation of new food hub

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