National Food Hub Survey

Food hubs are businesses or organizations that manage the aggregation, distribution and marketing of source-identified food products. They are an essential component of scaling up local food systems and a model of socially conscious businesses.

Since 2013 the Center for Regional Food Systems, in close collaboration with different partners including the University of Michigan Program Evaluation Group, the Wallace Center at Winrock International and the many food hub survey respondents, conducted the National Food Hub Survey. The survey tracks economic growth trends for food hubs across the nation and monitors changes in services offered and the variety of customers served.

These surveys:

help shape national understanding of food hubs and inform policy and program initiatives,
gain greater exposure for food hubs nationally, and
inform new potential relationships between food hubs and investors, grant makers and other food hubs looking to find success.

Preliminary results for the Findings of the 2025 National Food Hub Survey report have been published in the Executive Summary and the Data Dashboard.

The full survey report will be published in Fall 2025.

According to the analysis of results from 2025 National Food Hub Survey, food hub survey respondents' total gross sales greatly increased to K-12 schools and food banks between 2021 and 2025. Alongside that, over 50% of responding hubs have relied on grant funding. The primary source of funding is often federal or state-level grants which encourage and enable institutions, such as schools and hospitals, to purchase local produce from food hubs.

Despite most hubs reporting that they expect increased sales in the years ahead, hubs are also facing increased operating costs and profitability pressures. Hubs reported that their other main concern in the financial landscape is the decreased availability and uncertainty of federal funding. As community and economic connectors, food hubs are critical pieces of the food system that strengthen local economies and promote public health. From the Survey, responding food hubs stated that local food sourcing, farmer viability, regional food systems resilience, and access to healthy food for consumers were their top values.

For more information on this survey project, contact Jude Barry at barryjud@msu.edu