By ANNELI FOGT
Editor
The Vashon Island Growers Association (VIGA) last week received a $24,600 grant from the USDA to be used for a feasibility study to determine if Vashon can have its own center to process and aggregate food for distribution.
The all-inclusive facility that can be used to process local farmers’ food for sale to on-and off-island retailers is called a “food hub,” and VIGA Co-Chair Emily Scott said it will fill a need for island farmers.
“The challange for small farmers now is they can’t sell to wholesalers because their product is either not consistent quality or they don’t have enough,” Scott told The Beachcomber last week.
She said there is a problem with the size of the general produce and fresh foods supply on-island, meaning that Vashon farmers do not produce enough to keep up with the off-island economy. The ultimate goal is to create this food hub so farmers can pool their product and have enough to sell to on-island restaurants, schools and businesses, as well as wholesalers and possibly off-island markets.
A statement from VIGA reports that the hub would have washing and packing facilities, cold and freezer storage, a USDA-certified commercial kitchen for processing food and a central location for pick-up and drop off.
Scott said the grant is a small step in the right direction because “collective aggregation and marketing” has been talked about for years.
“The VIGA board has not been pursuing a ‘food hub,’ specifically, but collective aggregation and marketing has been on farmers’ minds for a long time,” Scott said. “If you go up to any farmer selling at the farmers market and ask, ‘If you had access to a third-party aggregation , marketing and processing facility, would you use it?’ They would say ‘Yes.’”
The feasibility study will begin in 2016 and will evaluate potential locations, including the former K2 facility and the old Granny’s Attic building at Sunrise Ridge. Scott said that K2 will be looked at, but that the primary site will be the old Granny’s building.
“The space is right; the location is right. That’s our main area of focus,” she said.
The grant will also cover the expenses of coming up with a business plan for the hub. Scott said that the VIGA board will likely create a steering committee from community members and stakeholders and hire a project manager to create a business plan for the proposed facility.
The steering committee and project manager alone would cost the organization roughly $9,600, according to Scott.
Once the year-long study is complete, Scott said the next step would be to find more funding for implementation and construction of the hub.
“We would look for more grants for implementation and do fundraising,” Scott said.
