SUMMERLAND – There will be more opportunities for farmers, and food and beverage producers and processors to grow their businesses while helping strengthen food security with the development of a new food hub in Summerland.
“Like many other producers in the area, I believe this food hub facility will help increase the possibility of primary production and create opportunities for new added-value revenue streams for farmers in Summerland,” said Thomas Tumbach, owner, LocalMotive Organic Delivery and Low Waste Market. “At LocalMotive, we would be interested in the use of a value-added processing line for various products like preserved fruits, jams, syrups, salsas and pickled vegetables, which would primarily be made from ingredients from our farm and neighbouring farmers in the area.”
In partnership with the District of Summerland and Community Futures Okanagan Similkameen, the Government of BC is investing $800,000 over two years in a new Okanagan Food and Innovation Hub (OFIH) in Summerland and growing the BC Food Hub Network to 13 facilities throughout the province. The hub will be located in the District of Summerland and will open in summer 2024.
“A regional food hub is a natural fit for Summerland given our long history in agricultural research and innovation. It has been a strategic priority of successive councils as it will provide farmers in Summerland and throughout the Okanagan a tremendous resource to diversify their operations and identify new revenue streams. I am truly excited to see the Province provide this commitment and support the project. We will continue to work with our partners to seek additional grant funds to see the vision become a reality,” said Doug Holmes, mayor of Summerland.
Food hubs provide a commercial shared food-processing and innovation space that are helping increase the volume of food grown and processed locally, creating more demand for ingredients from local farmers and increasing the number of people employed locally by the food industry while addressing food safety and security issues.
The BC Food Hub Network supports the Ministry of Agriculture and Food’s Grow BC, Feed BC and Buy BC programs, which encourage greater food security and local business growth.
“This has been a top-priority investment for Community Futures and our partners for several years, so we are thankful for the support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food to bring a food hub to Summerland. Many government contracts, supermarket chains and export markets have strict standards for facilities that process food products and the OFIH will address this gap to entering the market, giving entrepreneurs a place to test, develop and fulfil orders until they are large enough to invest in their own facility,” said Charles Cornell, Community Futures General Manager.
Business Examiner Staff