The Huon Valley Food Hub project

The Huon Valley Food Hub is a Tasmanian first and a unique collaboration between community, food system innovators, citizens, business and local government.

The initial phase of the initiative has been designed to:

  • Result in community and business collectively developing a model that responds to local needs with a focus on improving access to healthy sustainable food.

  • Test the model through community activations to demonstrate the functions of the proposed model.

  • Establish a networked governance model which supports future delivery of the business plan to ensure an ongoing legacy of the Project.

In June 2023, the Huon Valley Food Hub Business and Strategic Plan 2023 was endorsed by Huon Valley Council.

Focus and prioritisation is now moving towards the Plan’s implementation with the first step being the formation of the Huon Valley Food Hub Association and the delivery of discrete initiatives to continue this foundational work in response to local food system challenges and opportunities.

Members of the Huon Valley Food Hub Reference Group at their visioning and planning day (Campo de Flori, Glen Huon - March 2022)

Providing Huon Valley food to all Huon Valley people.

Our Vision

The Huon Valley’s food and farming system is resilient, regenerative, equitable and inclusive, where our food culture is celebrated and shared.

Our Mission

The ‘Local’ Way

Thanks to input from the community, businesses and project stakeholders through the development of the Huon Valley Food Hub Business and Strategic Plan, four priority activations or ‘trial’ projects were developed to test ideas on how we could respond to known challenges and address local needs.

Adopting the ‘local’ way approach allows us to be responsive and awake to local community needs, embracing a ‘safe to fail’ project approach to each and every trial initiative delivered under the Food Hub banner.

Projects delivered under the Food Hub are selected based upon the need to build strong foundations including enhancing local production and distribution capabilities. It is from this strong base that many value-add benefits can subsequently emerge in the local food system:

  • Provision of more jobs

  • Addressing food insecurity and accessibility

  • Increased education/knowledge around food and growing

  • More industry training

  • The evolution of more food experiences for locals and visitors through agri-tourism experiences

  • Application of circular economy principles and practice

  • Influencing policy change.

Follow this link to read more about our trial projects.