Environment Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate: ACT Government
Local Food Hubs are disruptors to the food system. Looking to shorten supply chains, they bring food handling and processing closer to the source of production to retain the integrity of the produce, reduce food miles, and support more viable opportunities for locally grown produce to reach local consumers.
As part of the implementation of the Canberra Region Local Food Strategy, SGS Economics and Planning partnered with Sustain: Australian Food Network to explore the feasibility of establishing an ACT Food Hub that caters to regional growers and supplies the Canberra community.
A Food Hub in the ACT would play a primary role in facilitating economic development for the broader regional food system. This would be achieved by assisting local producers in overcoming barriers to accessing local markets by enabling aggregation and providing access to food processing, storage, and distribution infrastructure.
The project explored the feasibility of what would be required to establish an ACT Food Hub. First, we completed a detailed literature review and investigated case studies from across Australia and around the world to learn from previous experience. This established that food hubs, which aim to strengthen the local food economy by helping producers unlock latent demand, were more viable in the long-term, as they focused on economic development across the wider food system. Critical to their success was the focus on lifting supply and demand simultaneously through facilitation and networking across different levels of the supply chain.
These findings were supported by broader consultation with industry stakeholders to understand specific functions desired for the ACT food hub, as well as the likely land and planning requirements needed to get started. Finally, we completed a high-level financial feasibility assessment to determine the scale of operation required for a local food hub to achieve long term financial sustainability.
The financial model affirmed that key drivers of ongoing financial sustainability include:
- Subsidised access to facilities (land and buildings) to reduce the high upfront capital costs associated with establishment.
- A reliable volume of produce moving through the hub through simultaneous facilitation of supply and demand.
- An appropriate margin added to fresh produce before on sale to customers to cover operating costs including wages.
The ACT Government is reviewing the study's findings and considering next steps. Read more about the project here.
