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Event Recap – Farm-to-School Partnerships: Expanding Market Opportunities for Farmers and Food Producers 

On October 16th, the USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center held its second webinar as part of its quarterly series. The webinar, “Farm-to-School Partnerships: Expanding Market Opportunities for Farmers and Food Producers,” featured speakers from Utah Department of Agriculture and FoodCalifornia Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), and USDA Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS). Speakers provided insights into farm to school programs and initiatives taking place across regional, state, and national levels.

Highlighted programs and initiatives include:

  • Movement Building Workshops led by Utah Farm to Fork, to help interested farmers, ranchers, and producers connect to their region network and gain resources and training related to participating in farm to school;
  • Direct service assistance for procurement and conducting statewide events such as the California Crunch Day led by CAFF, who has been supporting and leading Farm to school programs for 20 years; and
  • The USDA FNS Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program, which aims to assists child nutrition program operators incorporate local foods through grant funding, technical assistance, training, and more.

Register for the Southwest Center’s Upcoming Webinar

Join the USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center on January 15th from 3-4PM PST for our third webinar focused on institutional procurement.

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About Valley Vision and the Southwest Regional Food Business Center

Valley Vision leads coordination, communication, and network development efforts for the Southwest Regional Food Business Center. The quarterly webinar series is part of Valley Vision’s efforts to share best practices and to foster a collaborative network among Center partners and other participants. 

The Southwest Regional Food Business Center, representing Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah, is one of twelve USDA Regional Food Business Centers nationwide developed in 2023 to provide coordination, technical assistance, and capacity building to help farmers, ranchers, and other food businesses access new markets and initiatives, as well as navigate federal, state and local funding and resources. With an extensive network of partners from academic, government, and community-based organizations, the Southwest RFBC is dedicated to prioritizing historically underrepresented communities and small to mid-tier businesses.

For more information about the USDA Southwest Regional Food Business Center and its initiatives, visit www.swfoodbiz.org. To stay updated on future webinars and events, be sure to subscribe to the Center’s newsletter: http://bit.ly/SWRFBC-Newsletter

USDA disclosures and guidance can be found at https://bit.ly/USDAdisclosures.

Visit the Center’s socials here.

New Project to Advance Yolo Food Hub

Developing the Yolo Food Hub will strengthen local farms, improve healthy food access, and provide a healthier food and farming ecosystem throughout the Greater Sacramento Region.

Valley Vision, on behalf of several local partners, has been awarded a grant from the US Department of Agriculture’s Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) to support the establishment of the Yolo Food Hub

Yolo Food Hub is a new facility that will aggregate, process, store, and distribute farm produce grown in Yolo County and surrounding areas on behalf of farmers in the area. Located in Esparto, Yolo Food Hub will expand food production and distribution channels in Yolo County and the Greater Sacramento Region, while at the same time improving healthy food access, stabilizing food markets, increasing employment and job training opportunities, and providing pandemic relief for farmers.

“Yolo Food Hub will help establish a more diverse and equitable food system – one that allows small and mid-size producers to sell fresh, nutritious food more affordably to schools, institutions and agencies, and to swiftly and efficiently donate oversupplies to lower-income and precariously-employed consumers.” – Dr. Maria McVarish, Esparto Community Member 

Food hubs help connect farmers and food entrepreneurs with regional markets and institutional buyers, such as schools, hospitals, and food banks to access source-identified, locally grown products. The funds from this LFPP grant will be used to generate recommendations and a funding strategy to establish and sustain the new Yolo Food Hub. As part of the grant, farmers will receive training on how to reach institutional buyers, such as schools, hospitals, and restaurants, which will buy produce and goods from Yolo Food Hub.

Yolo Food Hub is one of the priority recommendations of the 2021 Sacramento Region Food System Action Plan-which is to build a network of food hubs to connect farmers to markets and increase institutional procurement. The Yolo Food Hub builds upon the 2014 food hub feasibility analysis conducted by SACOG through the Rural-Urban Connections Strategy (RUCS). Yolo Food Hub will support several other food hubs in the region, including Spork Food Hub and the Capay Valley Farm Shop. 

“The creation of the Yolo Food Hub creates opportunities for farmers to connect to a broader array of local markets. The Spork Food Hub brings long-standing relationships with local school districts and the opportunity for students to receive the best quality produce the region can supply. By working together, we can strengthen the resiliency of the regional food system.”
– Spork Food Hub 

In addition, the new Yolo Food Hub will support a regional network of organizations by providing logistical support in aggregation, value-added processing, storage, and distribution services. By providing a variety of value-creating services, Yolo Food Hub will enable farmers to concentrate on growing food for targeted markets, strengthening operations, and scaling their operations.

“Expanding the market reach for agricultural producers and increasing the collaborative efforts of the Yolo Food Hub project partners is ripely timed and exciting. Capay Valley Farm Shop has been operating as a farmer and community-owned food hub since 2007 and is committed to bringing our expertise and enthusiasm to the Yolo Food Hub.”
– Tracy Harding, Capay Valley Farm Shop 

The cost of developing Yolo Food Hub is estimated at $10 million, $2 million of which has been committed by Yolo County for site acquisition. The Yolo Food Hub project team includes: New Season Community Development Corporation (NSCDC), Capay Valley Farm Shop (CVFS), Yolo Food Bank, Durst Organic Growers, Spork Food Hub, Hatamiya Group, Kitchen Table Advisors, and Valley Vision as the project manager. 

For questions about Yolo Food Hub or how to get involved, please contact Grace Kaufman at Grace.Kaufman@ValleyVision.org.

Yolo Food Hub Flyer