Food Hub Feasibility Study
The Township of Langley, with the assistance of the Agricultural Advisory Committee, conducted a Food Hub Feasibility Study to assess the needs of local small/medium food producers, and their customers.
Food hubs are integrated facilities to process, package, store, distribute, and sell local food. They can support a wide range of activities, including farmers markets, food warehousing and distribution, (online) brokering and logistics, commercial kitchens (for food processing and preparation), and restaurants.
The Food Hub Feasibility Study is part of the Agricultural Viability Strategy, which has an emphasis to provide the required services and infrastructure to enhance the agri-food industry in Langley. The Feasibility Study was conducted in three phases:
- Phase 1: Provide community context for a food hub in Langley - Phase 1 provided an overview of the context of the project, how the concept was initiated, what has been done to advance the concept, and what are its long term vision and benefits for the community.
- Phase 2: Develop the food hub concepts and identify community interest - Phase 2 focused on research on food hub best practices, and the needs of local food producers and buyers. Food hub concepts were proposed based on feedback from local stakeholders.
- Phase 3: Test feasibility of food hub options - Phase 3 tested the financial and operational feasibility of the food hub concepts and made practical recommendations on a food hub and its components.