DARTMOUTH: The Halifax Regional Food Hub (the Hub) is slated to officially launch its operations on Monday, July 27.
This will mark the opening of a new piece of shared infrastructure designed to help more Nova Scotia food reach restaurants, retailers, institutions, and community organizations.
Operating from a warehouse in Burnside, the non-profit co-operative brings products from multiple Nova Scotia producers together in one place.
Wholesale buyers can order from several producers through a single online system, while the Hub coordinates aggregation, storage, order fulfilment and distribution.
“Nova Scotia has incredible farmers and producers, alongside a strong demand for local food. The missing piece has been shared infrastructure that can connect them efficiently,” said Eli Milton, Executive Director of the Halifax Regional Food Hub.
“The Hub takes on work that’s been difficult for farmers and producers to manage on their own, including coordinating orders, invoices, storage and deliveries. That gives folks more time to focus on growing and making food.”
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The Hub was developed in response to logistical barriers faced by both producers and buyers. Smaller and mid-sized food businesses often have limited time and capacity to market their products, coordinate separate wholesale accounts, and make multiple deliveries. Buyers interested in local food may also struggle to find available products in sufficient volumes, manage several suppliers at once, and coordinate delivery schedules.
Through the Hub, participating producers can list their products, set their prices, and reach a broader network of wholesale customers using one system.
“Selling through the Halifax Food Hub has allowed us to expand our wholesale program with ease,” said Andrew Linton of the Warehouse Market and Abundant Acres Farm. “The food hub takes care of packing individual orders, allowing us to save time on packing and admin at the farm. Their online store integrates seamlessly with our existing Local Line store; updating our inventory is simple and intuitive.
“Working with the food hub has allowed us to reach new wholesale customers and to offer more consistency and convenience for our existing wholesale customers.”
For buyers, the Hub provides a simple point of access to products from multiple Nova Scotia farms and food businesses. The Hub’s current and prospective customers include restaurants, independent retailers, public institutions, and community organizations.
“I’ve always believed that great restaurants begin long before food reaches the kitchen—they begin with the people who grow it, catch it, raise it, and care for it,” said Malcolm Campbell, Chef de Cuisine at Mystic. “The Halifax Food Hub is a fantastic way to make those connections more visible and more accessible. As chefs, we’re only as good as the people who grow, harvest, fish, and produce the incredible ingredients we work with.
“The Halifax Food Hub makes those connections easier to create and strengthen, giving more people access to the amazing producers that make Nova Scotia’s food scene so special. I think this will have a lasting impact on how we collaborate, support one another, and continue to showcase what this province has to offer.”
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The Province of Nova Scotia provided $850,000 to the Halifax Regional Food Hub through the Department of Growth and Development’s Community Economic Development Fund.
The investment supported the development and launch of the Hub’s operations, with the aim of increasing the supply and consumption of food produced in Nova Scotia.
The Hub has also received support from the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council’s Community Impact/Social Innovation Fund, Feed Nova Scotia’s Innovation Grant, and from organizations and individuals involved in the development of the Hub.
With its ordering and distribution systems now operating, the Hub’s next stage will focus on expanding its range of products, adding producers from across the province and building a more diverse base of wholesale buyers. It’s also developing partnerships that can move food from different regions of Nova Scotia into the Hub’s Dartmouth warehouse more efficiently.
“Opening the warehouse and beginning regular operations are important steps, but the Hub’s real value is making sure it works for producers and buyers over the long term,” said Milton.
“Our work now is to ensure reliable distribution, increase sales, strengthen relationships, add more producers and buyers to our cooperative, and make the Hub a dependable part of Nova Scotia’s food supply chain.”
The official launch will take place at 2 pm on Monday, July 27, at the Hub’s warehouse at 21 Williams Avenue in Dartmouth.
