Food system solutions to address food security and local economic development. The case of food hubs in Northeastern US

Socio-economic inequalities and natural resource exploitation reflect the limitations of how the current food system functions. Global and local conceptual categories are used to describe the two alternatives, which are shaping the way food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed. In the United States, food hubs are seen as an emerging model which is able to scaleup local and regional food systems in the face of the negative consequences generated by the dominant global-oriented system. Although food security and economic development are the main desirable outcomes for any food system, little research exists about how food hubs contribute to these two interrelated key issues. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the contribution to food security and economic development of Food Hub initiatives, shedding light on the recent evolution of this phenomenon in Northeastern US. Accordingly, the research questions have been narrowed down by taking into account the four dimensions (availability, access, utilization, and stability) through which food security is commonly framed and the seven drivers (ownership, place, multipliers, collaboration, inclusion, workforce, and system) of the Community Wealth Building approach to economic development. Seven food hubs operating in Northeastern U.S. have been surveyed in order to gather qualitative information about their activities in accordance with the dimensions and drivers included in the conceptual framework adopted by this inquiry. The survey was composed by semi-structured questions and submitted both through an online form and one-to-one interviews with the food hubs’ managers. The results of the study confirmed that food hubs are financially viable businesses which have the potential of bringing positive socio-economic outcomes in the community where they operate. In terms of food security, food hubs cannot be considered a stand-alone policy to increase food access for underserved social groups. Nonetheless, by helping farmers and small processors with their services, food hubs are undoubtedly contributing to increase the quantity and the quality of the food produced in their region. Regarding the local economic development aspect, food hubs showed to build upon one or more of the seven drivers of the CWB framework. Particularly, the food hubs operating business incubator and food processing facilities demonstrated to be involved in several wealth building strategies. Whether or not food hubs can enable the local food system with the disruptive capacity to counter the global food system was not a question this research investigated. Instead, the aim is to depoliticize the paradigmatic debate opposing the global/local categories by focusing on what really matters for any food system initiative: its contribution to food security and local economic development. Therefore, the insights developed in this explorative study can be useful to pragmatically shift the discussion towards these key issues.