Scaling up Alternative Food Networks: Exploring the Origins and Visions of the Halifax Food Hub

Food hubs are increasingly recognized as key infrastructure for scaling alternative food systems, which prioritize local production, shorter supply chains, and equitable access to food. These hubs act as intermediaries, connecting local producers with broader markets while supporting more sustainable and resilient food systems. In Canada's highly concentrated food system, food hubs are gaining traction as providing pathways to smaller, diversified food systems to compete in the marketplace. Despite the growing attention on food hubs, much of the research focuses on the U.S. or European contexts, leaving a gap in knowledge about their development and impact in Canada, especially in Atlantic regions like Nova Scotia. This exploratory study investigates the motivations and goals behind the creation of the Halifax Food Hub and implications of standardization and scaling. Drawing on interviews conducted with founders and key stakeholders, this study explores the motivations, values, and goals - as well as challenges - in developing Atlantic Canada's first food hub. In doing so, it brings into conversation scholarship on alternative food networks, food system resilience and corporate concentration.