Halifax Regional Food Hub launches to connect Nova Scotia producers with wholesale buyers

The Halifax Regional Food Hub officially launched operations July 27, creating a shared distribution network designed to help more Nova Scotia food reach restaurants, retailers, institutions and community organizations.

The non-profit co-operative operates from a warehouse in Burnside, bringing products from multiple Nova Scotia producers together in one location. 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.”

The Hub was developed to address logistical challenges faced by smaller and mid-sized food businesses, which often have limited capacity to market products, manage multiple wholesale accounts and make separate deliveries. Buyers can also face challenges finding local products in sufficient volumes and coordinating multiple suppliers.

Participating producers can list products, set prices and reach a broader network of wholesale customers through the Hub’s online 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.”

The Hub’s customers include restaurants, independent retailers, public institutions and community organizations.

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 funding supported the development and launch of the Hub’s operations, with the goal of increasing the supply and consumption of food produced in the province.

“The Halifax Regional Food Hub is opening new markets, strengthening local supply chains and helping more Nova Scotia-grown and Nova Scotia-made food reach families, institutions and businesses,” said Damian Stoliov, minister assistant of growth and development. “Through our investment, we are supporting practical infrastructure that helps producers grow, keeps more food dollars in our province and builds a stronger, more resilient local food system. Congratulations to everyone whose partnership and leadership brought this important project to life.”

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 organizations and individuals involved in its development.

The next stage will focus on expanding the product range, adding producers from across Nova Scotia and building a broader base of wholesale buyers. The Hub is also developing partnerships to improve the movement of food from different regions of the province into its Dartmouth warehouse.

“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.”