Fireweed Food Co-op Process Evaluation and Implementation

The Fireweed Food Co-op is a non-profit community service cooperative whose mission is to reduce barriers to, and increase participation in the local food system for all people from producers to eaters. In early 2020, Fireweed Food Co-op initiated their pilot year for the Food Hub (a social enterprise project of theirs), which was also the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pilot year saw lower sales to restaurants than anticipated due to COVID-19’s impacts on that sector. To adapt, we focused more on supplying to retailers who have seen increases in sales due to COVID-19, and to community organizations, many of whom have received additional funding to provide meals to vulnerable individuals impacted by the pandemic. This has helped to bolster sales for our farmer producer members for the majority of whom the food hub was an additional source of revenue during COVID-19.

However, our findings from operating a pilot food distribution project through a pandemic have also shown us the instability of our market and globalized food systems, and the need to reinvest in our local food supply chain infrastructure.

Faculty Supervisor:

Christine Kampen Robinson

Student:

Partner:

Fireweed Food Co-op

Discipline:

Business

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

Canadian Mennonite University

Program: