This fall and winter, dozens of residents are opting to pick up weekly boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables at local businesses and workplaces rather than buying similar produce from supermarkets.
They are each members of regional farm box programs operated by the Southwest Washington Food Hub, a farmer-owned cooperative that launched in 2020.
The cooperative modeled their box programs, now in their third season, after similar community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs. These crop-sharing systems usually allow consumers to buy part of a harvest directly from a local farm.
But rather than buy from one farm, members of the SW WA Food Hub's farm box programs are getting produce from a collective of over 20 small- and mid-sized farms.
"I think it's a really convenient way to get local produce," said SW WA Food Hub sales manager Annie Salafsky. "It's kind of similar to going to the farmers market without any of the hassles, so it's like an online farmers market."
The box programs are a key part of SW WA Food Hub's business and mission. Farmers created the hub as a solution to the problem of limited market access. Despite being challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, the hub has shown signs of progress in recent years that may bode well for its farms and local communities.
Tina Sharp, manager of the food hub, said the cooperative aggregates, markets and distributes products to communities. In addition to its box offerings, the food hub also sells wholesale to school districts, restaurants and grocery stores through its website.
"It allows (farmers) to be able to focus more on their crops and whatnot instead of trying to go out and find their own customers," Sharp said.
Why was the SW WA Food Hub created?
A small group of farmers began forming SW WA Food Hub in 2019 because they wanted more wholesale options that didn't necessarily require a large-scale commitment, said Jacob Wilson, co-owner of Kingfisher Farm.
"We were looking for smaller scale wholesale opportunities, so we didn't have to grow everything all the time," Wilson said. "It would allow us to focus on our strengths and the strengths of our site."
There's also a need to get fresh, healthy food to local students and workers, said Stephen Bramwell, associate professor of agriculture and natural resources at Washington State University Extension. The logistics around creating new markets and providing fresh food to local communities required a coordinated effort, he said.
"It's very hard to organize across 10, 15, 20 producers and then 10, 15, 20 buyers efficiently," Bramwell said. "That's where the cooperative marketing and distribution infrastructure comes in."
The need for improved market access appeared in surveys of local farmers. In a 2015 case study by WSU Extension, about 64% of responding farmers said they would consider "aggregating and/or jointly marketing their agriculture products" with other farms to access markets.
And in 2017, WSU Extension conducted a farmer needs assessment that identified market access as a priority area for improvement.
Salafsky, who also co-founded Helsing Junction Farm in Thurston County, said the pressure to access new markets comes from the cost of doing business with the two dominant organic sellers in the region, Organically Grown Company and Charlie's Produce.
She said organic prices have been kept artificially low and are not keeping pace with the rate of inflation. Setting up a cooperative, she said, allows participating farmers to set their own prices.
"Of all the things that are a threat to small-scale agriculture, that's a really big one," Salafsky said. "That's why direct marketing is so important, because at least you're capturing the full value of that customer's dollar yourself."
The food hub launched in May 2020 with technical assistance from WSU Extension, the Northwest Agriculture Business Center and Thurston Economic Development Council. Later that summer, the food hub joined the Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative.
How is the Food Hub doing now?
SW WA Food Hub offers two box programs to the public: a Multi-Farm box program that anyone can sign up for and a Workplace Wellness program that's delivered to employees at participating workplaces.
The Multi-Farm box program had 69 members in the 2022-23 winter season while the Workplace Wellness program had 12 members, according to data shared by Salafsky. This past summer, the data show 101 people signed up for the Multi-Farm box program while 104 joined the Workplace Wellness program.
Though there was improvement between the previous winter and summer, there were fewer sign-ups for the current season, which had 68 Multi-Farm box members and 69 Workplace Wellness members.
When asked about the decline, Salafsky said the hub capped membership this season because it was transitioning between warehouses. The hub recently began moving from Tumwater to Chehalis.
The food hub's revenue tells the story of its early struggles and more recent promise. The hub made just $60,564 in revenue in 2020 and just $29,245 in 2021, according to data shared by Bramwell.
Sharp said the COVID-19 pandemic hit the food hub hard. Early on, the cooperative relied on government grants and pandemic relief funding. She said the cooperative temporarily closed its online store and some farmers even left the cooperative amid the uncertainty.
"COVID was just absolutely devastating on the entire world, but in the hub, it came to a standstill," Sharp said.
The food hub has grown since then. Sharp said she's in communication with at least 10 school districts, the Tenino Food Bank, a couple of restaurants and many local governments that are interested or already involved in its programs. Membership has also steadily bounced back, she said.
Revenue data shows the hub made $232,671 in 2022. Bramwell said revenue may still match or exceed that amount in 2023. He added about 79% of 2023 revenue is coming from the food hub's two box programs, making this a critical transition year for the hub.
What are the limits of this model?
SW WA Food Hub still has a long way to go to reach financial viability. As it stands, Bramwell estimated the hub may need over $1 million in revenue to be viable. The box programs may help it reach that goal, he added.
"The profitability to sustain the farmers and the organization as a whole is better when you can find programs that are scalable, like the box programs." Bramwell said.
Many challenges remain. Bramwell said he thinks the biggest challenge will be managing growth and its costs.
"Anytime you grow the business, then you need more time to manage marketing, sales and operations and you need to grow sales, marketing operations to grow the profit margin," Bramwell. "It's just barely supported now it feels like and yet the hub really needs to accelerate its growth."
Wilson said Kingfisher Farms sees the food hub as an opportunity to increase sales but naturally that growth will be dependent on consumer demand.
Working as a collective with other farmers has its benefits, Wilson said, but it also has its complications.
"I know it's hard for the food hub to get as much grower participation as it needs, but I think that's something that will just improve in time, especially as sales become more predictable and the invested farmers eventually realize that it plays an important role to their bottom line."
How do communities benefit from the food hub?
A survey of summer 2023 Multi-Farm Box members showed respondents largely became more interested in supporting local farms.
About 76% of respondents strongly agreed that they were more willing to buy food directly from farms and 71% strongly agreed that they were more interested in buying local foods. About 60.5% strongly agreed that their knowledge of local farms increased as well.
In a similar survey of Workplace Wellness members, many respondents said the program offered a "convenient way to incorporate more fruit and vegetables" in their meals. Many respondents also said they felt a "greater connection with local farms."
One of the stated goals of SW WA Food Hub is to create a sustainable local food system, according to its website. Bramwell said buying local foods multiplies benefits to the local economy while also strengthening the "urban-rural pact."
"That connection from an urban community to a rural community is really important." Bramwell said. "When urban communities get separated from rural communities, I think we see all sorts of tension. People don't really understand one another."
Bramwell said disruptions like pandemics and climate change may decrease production capacity and jeopardize supply chains, thereby endangering local food security. To minimize those disruptions, he said residents should consistently support their local producers.
"When an acute disruption occurs, all of a sudden, you need this heightened production," Bramwell said. "I like to say you need to sustain the producers in the good times because you want them to sustain you in the bad times."
