The Kansas City (KC) Region has seen
a surge in demand for local food. Much of this demand is coming from
mid-tier wholesale buyers, especially schools, looking for local food items in
larger quantities than an individual consumer. At the same time, this
region has gained new farmers interested in scaling up their production and
business. This 14 month project the KC Food Hub helped these farmer navigate the risk involved with scaling up and extending their
seasons to meet the needs of these buyers.
Specifically, this project taught growers about the following risk management topics:
1.Production risk- Diversification / new production systems (growing undercover)– Season extension and
2. Crop insurance options for specialty crops
3. Business- understanding which crops they can afford to sell wholesale
4. Human risk- Human Health Stress and family business relationships
We held 2 trainings and one producer meeting on the subjects listed above. We taught 48 farmers in
one or more of these topics through workshops and 23 farmers gained access to new markets. Of these 48 participants all gained an understanding of these risks areas and 48% implemented new practices based on
what they learned from the training.