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Donation helps launch food hub

By JILL SCHRAMM 5 min read

VELVA - The former Dot's Pretzels building in Velva will serve as a regional distribution center for a rural food hub that's set to launch a pilot project this fall.

Supporters gathered in Velva on Wednesday, July 15, at an open house in the former manufacturing facility, donated by Randy and Dot Henke to the North Central Regional Grocers and Local Food Hub.

"Their gift has accelerated the vision in ways none of us could have imagined and will create opportunities for independent rural grocery stores, North Dakota food producers and the communities they serve for many years to come,” said Joel Brandvold, board president of the North Dakota Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDREC) Foundation, a lead agency in the development of the food hub.

"When we were approached about the building, Randy and I knew we wanted to do something good for the Velva community," Dot Henke said. "The idea of a food hub sounded like a fantastic opportunity."

As someone who started as a small business and Pride of Dakota food manufacturer, Henke said donating the building to rural grocers and local food producers seemed like the perfect fit.

"We feel good about what we are doing here, especially that we are helping the community of Velva," she said.

The Henkes' building donation, including equipment ranging from pallet racking and a forklift to a commercial kitchen, will accelerate what is possible for the food hub, said Ellen Huber, director of Rural Development for the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC). The building still will require some redesign and retrofitting but it stretches the dollars available to accomplish the project, she said.

The NDREC Foundation also received a donated commercial walk-in cooler and freezer from Fairchild Equipment in Fargo/Moorhead.

"These gifts remind us that building stronger rural communities is truly a shared responsibility and that remarkable things happen when people and organizations choose to invest together," Huber said.

The food hub project is in the first year of a seven-year, $12.6 million commitment from the Bush Foundation. Funding also has come from a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Cooperative Development Grant and Local Food Promotion Grant.

Huber said a large share of the Bush grant will help with planning and development costs. Funds also can be used for building upkeep and renovation and as a subsidy while the food hub moves from startup to self-supporting. Some funds will be used for evaluation and story-telling components.

NDAREC and the NDREC Foundation have a number of partners, including small groceries and local foods producers, FARRMS, legislators and community leaders, telecommunications cooperatives and others. In Minot, supporters have included SRT, Minot Area Chamber EDC and Souris Basin Planning Council.

The proposed food hub has a model in the successful Rural Access Distribution Cooperative that has been operating since 2021 in Walsh County, serving groceries in Park River, Edinburg and Hoople.

Once operational, the Velva facility will receive conventional grocery products, consolidate deliveries for multiple rural stores and serve as a distribution point for locally produced farm products destined for grocery stores, restaurants, schools, hospitals, nursing homes and consumers throughout the region, according to NDAREC.

Matt and Brenda McCasson, owners of Velva's grocery, said they have been meeting since last fall with other grocers to plan for the food hub in the Minot region. About 10 area groceries have indicated interest. The regional food hub will serve about a 100-mile radius.

"We're slowly honing in on the idea of how we want to utilize this facility," Matt McCasson said. "I think we're getting closer, and we couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity that we have in front of us."

The project continues to enlist local producers who can benefit from a product distribution system.

Huber said the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services plans to offer a healthy foods incentive to SNAP clients, enabling their nutrition dollars to purchase double the locally grown produce. She said the incentive will mesh with the efforts of the hub in its initial year as a pilot project.

Ashley Bruner, a partner in Dakota Angus in Drake, and Quinn Renfandt, who grows produce near Sawyer, shared their enthusiasm at the open house for the building donation and the food hub that the donation is helping make possible.

"We have an opportunity here to change the way we tackle food access in a way that we have never done before," Renfandt said. "Working with multiple stakeholders from multiple groups is going to come with a lot of different barriers that we haven't even seen yet, but we're going to work through it one small fire at a time, and I can't wait to see what we do."

The NDREC Foundation has stated its intent over the long-term is to transfer the Velva property and its operation to a cooperative or community-based organization formed by independent grocers and local food producers.

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