WORCESTER—The Worcester Regional Food Hub celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony for its new facility on Friday, March 29, inside Union Station. The Food Hub was established in 2015 to help expand opportunities for local entrepreneurs and farmers, while also strengthening the region’s food system.
Despite Worcester County having the most farms of any in Massachusetts, the city itself faces elevated levels of food insecurity and limited access to locally grown foods. Addressing this issue is a core part of the Food Hub’s mission.
“When we first had the idea of looking for a space, there wasn’t a lot of momentum behind us to make it happen,” said Shon Rainford, director of the Worcester Regional Food Hub. “And then we did a class in 2019 and several people were in attendance that could make it happen. We knew we needed a bigger space and we knew we had to find ways to make that happen.”
The project is a collaboration between the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Food Hub, the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, and the Regional Environmental Council. Since its inception, the Food Hub has grown into a strategic wholesaler of fresh produce to schools and businesses across the area, as well as a successful incubator for emerging chefs and food entrepreneurs.
“Our work at the Food Hub is really focused on equity and economic development,” Rainford noted. “We’ve helped around 200 food businesses that are either new or growing.”
“This is a long time coming,” said Peter Dunn, chief development officer for Worcester. “We first walked through this space in 2018. It really just shows what it takes in terms of strong leadership and a village to bring everything together, especially in a complicated project like this.”
“We’re not just breaking ground on this food hub, we’re breaking ground on a project that will make Worcester a hub for food innovation,” said Rep. Jim McGovern. “I’m talking about a model for the country. This is a shining example of bringing together federal, state, and local partners to transform communities.”
“This is important,” said Worcester Mayor Joe Petty “We see food insecurity as an issue not just in Worcester, but throughout the country and throughout the world.”
“We also have our center platform project in partnership with the MBTA to bring more commuter service to the station,” Dunn added. “We’ve always had a desire to make this place more than just a place for commuter services. We have a new restaurant in Union Station called 961.”
“Already, the Food Hub is connecting dozens of farmers with local schools, workplaces, hospitals, and local restaurants so that people in Central Massachusetts can enjoy fruits and vegetables that were grown down the road instead of across the globe,” McGovern said.
Despite COVID raising concerns for the project’s plan, leaders say they remained optimistic and eventually received funding.
“After the pandemic, we went through fundraising and design,” said Rainford. “Mass Development provided the first $100,000 to get this ball rolling and to help get the architectural plans done. The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts was our initial funding partner and provided us another $100,000.”
Spearheaded by McGovern, Rainford said that over the course of time, funding came in from the city, state and federal government. “Over the course of time, we received funding from the city, state, and also the federal government, thanks to Congressman Jim McGovern. Eventually, we knew we could make this happen,” Rainford explained.
“Due to inflation, we had to revise some of our plans. But, luckily we have an amazing facility that we hope to have open in a year,” said Rainford. “Construction should begin in about a month or so.”
The new facility, situated in the transportation hub of Union Station, significantly expands the organization’s capabilities. The 20,000-square-foot space features five production kitchens equipped with state-of-the-art culinary equipment, a multipurpose event and community space, and greatly increased cold and dry storage capacity.
The expanded kitchen facilities support the continued growth of the Food Hub’s culinary entrepreneurship programs, while the additional storage allows them to provide more fresh, local produce to help alleviate food access challenges. Educational classes on topics such as culinary skills, food safety, and entrepreneurship will also be hosted in the new multipurpose space.
“Someone with a new idea for a food business, such as a new tomato sauce, a new hot sauce, a new salad dressing, can actually have a place to produce it,” said McGovern. “And then we as consumers can purchase it. That is what a strong regional food system should look like.”
“This groundbreaking marks an exciting new chapter for the Worcester Regional Food Hub,” said Rainford. “Our new facility will amplify our efforts to empower local food businesses, connect residents to healthy foods, and strengthen the regional food system as a whole.”
Matt Olszewski is a freelance content and news writer based in Boston, MA. In his free time, Matt enjoys running, hiking or skiing. Matt is currently finishing up the MPH degree program at Tufts University. He can be reached at mattoskier@gmail.com
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