What is the Sedgwick County Harvest Hub?
The Sedgwick County Harvest Hub’s mission is to connect you to the farmers, ranchers and growers in Sedgwick County so you can purchase the food they raise.
Here’s how the Harvest Hub does it:
For food to reach your plate, there are three basic steps that it goes through. First, someone grows the plant or animal; that person is called a grower. Second, once that plant or animal reaches a stage where it is ready to harvest, it is processed. For a plant, it needs to be either cleaned, cooled or canned — sometimes all three. For an animal, it goes to a meat locker to be turned into various meat products. The third and final step is determining how to get that food to your plate; that is called distribution. Distribution takes on many forms such as picking it up at the farm or having them deliver it to you, buying it at a farm stand or at a grocery store.
These three steps are the basic supply chain in a food system. The U.S. has a global system that lets me enjoy a banana grown in Florida or as far away as China, consumers are also interested in purchasing food grown by local farmers, ranchers and growers. This requires a local system of production, processing and distribution, which we call a Harvest Hub.
The Sedgwick County Harvest Hub (SCHH) begins as a digital hub using a website and social media to connect consumers to growers, processors and distributors in Sedgwick County. It is designed to give consumers easier access to purchase local food. This website will help you find the people who grow local food, the companies who process it and discover how to get it to your plate. And the fun thing is, you can find them on our map!
Although our primary function begins as the digital hub to provide you with access to local food, we do other things to make it easier for you to meet the people who grow your food, including:
- Hosting town halls in various parts of the county;
- Hosting our unique Market of Farms, which draws consumers from all over the state because of our connection to Shop Kansas Farms, which has more than 169,000 followers on Facebook;
- Offering private farm tours where you can meet the people who grow your food, and;
- Hosting charcuterie nights where you can sample the various food items grown.
Furthermore, if you have been toying with the idea of growing food as a business, we can help you navigate the process much easier than if you were on your own.
Another focus of the SCHH is to help build out the practical, physical components of production, processing and distribution. We will increase the number and diversity of growers. We will help build more commercial kitchens that are accessed 24/7 so, for example, people growing tomatoes can turn them into salsa and suddenly have a national market of shelf-stable food. Included in our plan are ways to help local grocery stores stock local foods and even set up specialty stores that carry local products.
Last, but maybe the most important, we are going to help farmers advertise so it is easier for consumers to find them. If you are interested in eating locally grown food and meeting the farmers who grow it, then SCHH exists to make that much easier for you. Soon, you’ll see the SCHH brand on products and businesses in the local area so you can rest assured you are buying local food.
And let us know how we can make it even easier! Email us at: [email protected]