The Role and Impact of Food Hubs in Romania: Insights from CRPE Studies

The Romanian Center for European Policies (CRPE) has published two studies on the situation of Food Hubs in Romania, following their 6 years of operation. The latter summarizes what is important to know about the network*.

The food hub (FH) simplifies interactions between producers and consumers, supporting small and medium-sized farmers in marketing their products. Food hubs collect agricultural products, pool the efforts of several local farmers, and direct the products either directly to consumers or to HORECA entities or public institutions. They offer training, consultancy, and education services while fulfilling financial sustainability requirements.

Food hubs also enable access to local products via e-commerce, raising awareness of local specificities and culture. They can fill gaps in local and regional food infrastructure, help consumers find and consume fresh or traditionally processed products, support new forms of food marketing, accelerate the development of small agri-food businesses, and facilitate community action and education.

The Food Hub Network, funded by the Romanian-American Foundation, started in 2017 by developing five pilot projects of food hub structures at the national level. These entities are wholly owned by non-governmental organizations that pursue rural development objectives. The program’s vision was to pilot a model of local economic development through the association of small and medium farmers and small producers of local products.

The four active food hubs in the program include Nod Verde, Cumsecade/Helyénvaló, Nord Natural, and Roade and Merinde. They follow common principles, including cooperation with nearby agricultural producers, taxed activity, socially-oriented LLCs, resource services for farmers, logistic centers, balanced commercial addition, and online shop websites.

Source: https://rafonline.org/program/dezvoltarea-food-hub-urilor/

Food hubs are vital in Romania’s economy, providing a platform for farmers to sell their products and engage with local communities. They have developed various sales channels, including online shops, physical stores, and events, to diversify income sources and attract new customers. Website optimization has been key to improving the online shopping experience. Food hubs have strengthened their B2B sales channels by collaborating with regional or national companies. Operational expenses are similar across all four hubs, with warehouse and shop rent and utilities being the largest contributors.

The success of food hubs can be attributed to continuous adaptation to socio-economic contexts, optimizing logistic flow, diversifying sales channels, expanding customer bases, building customer loyalty, and seasonal sales. Seasonal sales have also been a significant factor in their evolution.

Food hubs also support agricultural ecosystems and local communities by advising small producers, educating consumers, and promoting local consumption. Over the past three years, they have organized training programs for 212 farmer suppliers and built bridges between food providers and local communities, promoting nutrition education and solutions against food waste.

Romanian agriculture needs help accessing small producers to markets and integrating them into modern agri-food chains. The trade deficit in agri-food products widens, reaching around €1.3 billion in 2023. The pandemic has stimulated consumer orientation towards local products, exponentially increasing online aggregation platforms.

A mission-oriented approach is required to develop short food chains in Romania, involving an interdisciplinary perspective and commitment from actors at all levels. Public policy recommendations include supporting the setting up and development of new food hubs through subsidies/financing schemes, encouraging local public procurement of agri-food products, and creating a simplified legal framework for exploiting small farmers’ products.

Judith MOLNÁR, Spektrum Educational Center Romania

*FOOD HUBS: MODELS FOR DEVELOPMENT SHORT CHAINS AGRI-FOOD IN ROMANIA