Worcester Regional Food Hub Offers Curbside Pick up

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Monday, May 18, 2020

GoLocalWorcester News Team

Worcester Regional Food Hub, an ever-growing network of farmers, food entrepreneurs, and chefs for local food, has created a new direct to consumer curbside pick up business model during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Food Hub has created an online order system that updates weekly. Boxes are created with nine to 11 items with almost all of the products coming from in-state producers. Customers can pickup their orders every Wednesday from noon to 5 pm at Greendale People’s Church located at 25 Francis Street in Worcester.

The community has been very responsive to this new offering, and participation has increased each week. With curbside pickup, customers do not have to go into grocery stores to access food. The Food Hub is following strict safety measures with regards to wearing masks and constant use of sanitizer between customers, according to the announcement.

“The amount of growth is amazing, as we are actually selling more food during the pandemic than before the shift,” said Shon Rainford, director of Worcester Regional Food Hub. “There is really a changing mindset regarding local food systems right now because of the reliability and safety aspect. The longer the food system, the more chances there are for something to break down. In our local operations, we only have two steps, so a break down in the system is far less likely. This pandemic has been going on long enough that habits can form, and we only expect the local food system to grow and flourish more.”

Little Leaf Farms and the Worcester Regional Food Hub have partnered for the last two years. Before the pandemic, the Food Hub was providing Little Leaf Farms lettuce both in bulk and clam shells to wholesale customers and people in the organization’s incubator kitchen. Both organizations are equally committed to providing fresh local food for a resilient and solid supply even beyond this crisis.

“We are proud to partner with the Worcester Regional Food Hub in their successful transition to curbside pickup,” said Paul Sellew, founder and CEO of Little Leaf Farms, which grows hydroponic lettuce that is never touched by human hands is delivered the same day it is harvested. “As a local food producer, we understand the need for strong local food systems to make our communities more resilient and improve the freshness and quality of food for everyone.”

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