The ribbon was cut on a new food distribution hub on Hole Avenue in La Sierra, filling the gap left by the closure of the Riverside Unified School District's food hub, connecting local farmers with restaurants.
The Inland Empire Regional Food Hub, processes and distributes produce from farms within 50 miles of Riverside. The facility currently packs about 3,000 boxes weekly and purchases $80,000 in produce from local growers each week.
"Food grown within 400 miles is considered local, the IE food hub is a hyperlocal organization, all food is connected within 50 miles of the hub," said Joyce Jong, project manager at the city's Office of Sustainability.
"It's a win, win." said Paloma Montes of Blue Zones Project Riverside, a community wellness organization focused on promoting healthy lifestyles, which donated $18,000 for central processing equipment. "It supports our local businesses and entrepreneurs and we hope that someday this will make it possible to get even more fresh grown food in our own schools."
The hub sells wholesale to restaurants and food service organizations. Consumers can access the hub's produce through the separate Riverside Food Co-op, which offers seasonal box delivery to members at pickup locations around Riverside.
Berndt, who grew up on a family farm, said the hub streamlines sales for local farmers while providing restaurants and consumers access to hyperlocal produce. The facility includes storage space and a large commercial cooler for maintaining produce quality between farm pickup and delivery.
The Riverside Food Co-op, a consumer cooperative, plans to open a retail store once membership reaches sufficient levels to support a physical location.
School districts have expressed interest in sourcing local produce, which could provide steady institutional contracts to support the hub's growth.
"We want more farmers," said Berndt, who is building the network of local growers. The hub purchases from farms that use both organic and conventional growing methods, focusing on producers within the hyperlocal radius.
The La Sierra location replaces distribution services previously provided by the RUSD hub. Local restaurants and food service organizations can purchase directly from the hub at wholesale prices, while individual consumers access produce through co-op membership.
The hub represents a growing trend toward regional food distribution systems that support local agriculture while providing consumers access to fresh, locally grown produce. Similar operations have emerged across California as communities seek alternatives to industrial food distribution networks.
More information: For details about Riverside Food Co-op membership, visit riversidefoodcoop.org or call (951) 290-7327.
