North Valley Food Hub
The North Valley Food Hub (NVFH) is a multifaceted project designed to incentivize the spread and adoption of regenerative conservation practices increasing soil health on thousands of acres in the greater Sacramento Valley by providing funding and one-on-one assistance directly to growers for implementing these practices AND providing post-harvest support, distribution and wholesale marketing channels through our online platform.
Producers can participate in both parts of the program or only one. You can sell through the marketplace without using the regenerative transition assistance. On the other hand, you could take advantage of the technical assistance without participating in the marketplace. Either way, you can be an integral part of the NVFH team.
Become Part of the Team!
If you would like to be considered for enrollment as either a grower, a buyer, or a collaborator, please click below to fill out our NVFH Team Builder form and we'll contact you via your preferred form of communication.
North Valley Food Hub Team Builder Form(opens in new window)
We're Buying! Click here to sell your produce through the North Valley Food Hub!
Vendor Interest Form(opens in new window)
The North Valley Food Hub was launched with funds awarded by a $5 million USDA Partnership grant over five years. The project provides farm-to-fork integration through marketing and sales support for growers implementing proven soil health improvement practices by creating a one-stop shopping platform for wholesale buyers, and a marketplace for growers to post and promote their products. The program also provides annual funding, free training, technical support, mentorship, and access to specialty equipment for producers to implement regenerative practices.
We plan to work with over 100 local farmers and ranchers, providing them with the tools and support they need to succeed, and a marketplace of interested buyers for the products they produce.
Enhancing Local Food Systems and Building Regional Economies Luncheon
On November 20, 2024, we hosted a special event at the University Farm Pavilion to introduce key stakeholders in California agriculture and the food economy to regenerative agriculture programs in California and nationally, discussing how they intersect with efforts to create robust regional food systems. There were multiple guest speakers, a wonderful lunch featuring local food by grown by participants in the North Valley Food Hub, time for networking, and focus group sessions to brainstorm ways to address known barriers to successful implementation of resilient regional food economies throughout the state. View the presentations below:
Enhancing Local Food Systems Highlight Reel(opens in new window)
Noelle Brimlow – Welcome and Introduction
Karen Ross - Value of Local Food Economy
Dr. Tawny Mata – OEFI’s Programs & future innovations to advance the state's goals
Michael Whamond – How we connect Californians with healthy and nutritious CA grown food
Jake Brimlow – USDA sponsored North Valley Food Hub
Jenni Dye and Sheila McQuaid – Local Food Systems & Community Health Programs
Jason Schwenkler – California Jobs First Program: Building a Robust Community-Led Food Economy
Specific project goals include:
- Establishing the North Valley Food Hub focused on training, education and marketing services for small and underserved farmers and ranchers engaging in regenerative soil health practices. This will include technical service provider training, online farmer education and networking tools, and on-farm field days.
- Incentivizing growers to use regenerative soil health practices and participate in the Hub marketing and distribution through technical support, educational programming, and economic incentives.
In addition to modeling the cumulative impact of regenerative practices, periodic soil sampling and analysis by our own RAD lab will monitor effects on soil carbon and soil health indicators, at no cost to the grower.
- Developing markets/sales for producers participating in the North Valley Food Hub.