Capito Grant To Aid Future Wheeling Food Hub

Funds from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture totalling $292,700 have been granted to Grow Ohio Valley by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito to assist in building the foundation of the Wheeling Food Hub.

“Working to ensure all West Virginians are able to access healthy and nutritious food is incredibly important,” said Capito. “I was proud to help secure this grant to Grow Ohio Valley so that they can continue connecting the West Virginia communities that need food access the most to reliable and healthy food producers.”

To achieve the goal of connecting communities that need access to healthy food producers, Grow OV will use the grant to expand the reach of local healthy food vendors through the Wheeling Food Hub.

Once open, the hub will provide local vendors with the “tools, resources and education in order to scale their businesses,” explained Grow OV COO Jodi Adams.

Differentiating that the hub will not be a retail spot in the same vein as Grow OV’s Public Market, Adams outlined that the building will provide local vendors a spot to “produce, store, package and then distribute their goods.”

While the Public Market has already begun connecting local vendors directly to customers, Adams explained the business provided for vendors is “small scale.”

“Many of the vendors who sell in the Public Market make products out of their own homes,” said Adams, who hopes the grant money will allow sellers to make the jump from creating their products in their house to operating at a brick-and-mortar location.

“If you have someone making products from their home to sell at the Public Market who wants to scale up, the Wheeling Food Hub will get them the resources to do that,” said Adams. “By taking the next steps at the hub using our staff, we can not only provide vendors the resources they need but also information on the laws and restrictions they need to follow.”

The resources provided by the hub to vendors include equipment, licensing, kitchen space, storage and distribution assistance.

The grant will also open doors for Grow OV to connect to greater product distribution chains through collaboration with Appalachian Logistics, a group that has created a distribution route for vendors in West Virginia, Ohio and Virginia.

Appalachian Logistics will provide the Wheeling Food Hub with “the planning that goes into creating an expansive distribution network,” said Adams, including acquiring the vehicles, maintenance and mileage.

Through this partnership, Adams hopes that Grow OV will be able to expand its “fairly limited resources.”

“Right now, we do have to say no to things, so with more resources, we’ll be able to make more connections,” said Adams. “This funding will not only increase the amount of people that we can talk to but also the time that we can spend with them to build relationships from there.”

Once the hub is up and running, Adams envisions the building being a revenue driver for not only vendors in the area but for the community as well. She noted that before this vision can come to fruition, the groundwork must be laid, which the grant money will help achieve.

With Grow OV’s ultimate goal being to create a local food system, Adams noted the group already grows produce and provides information on local products. The Wheeling Food Hub will get Grow OV one step closer to its goal by increasing access vendors have to food markets,” said Adams.

With the expansion of local vendors, Adams explained the access to fresh, nutritional food in the community will expand as well.

“The money is going right back into the community on top of being spread to local vendors, artisans and bakers,” said Adams. “Residents will see the funding directly in the form of widespread access to fresh, natural produce.”

While the foundations for the Wheeling Food Hub are still being put into place, Adams said Grow OV is “optimistic” for the building to open in 2024.

“It’s important that we continue to get the resources that take us closer and closer to that opening in grants and some private foundation fundraising,” said Adams. “The community will eventually see the direct impact of this grant in terms of the health and wellness it will provide.”