Food Hub Questionnaire

Food Hub Questionnaire

Healthy Archuleta is learning from our community about the need for and potential use of a community food hub to support the local food system and increase access to local foods in Archuleta County. Please complete this questionnaire to help us better understand your perspective on the needs for and uses of a food hub. Please complete this questionnaire before Monday, March 31th to make sure that your responses are included. Please contact Healthy Archuleta with any questions related to this project at fsfearchuleta@gmail.com. Thank you for your time.
Background Information
Name*

First NameLast Name
Email*
example@example.com
Phone Number
Please enter a valid phone number.
What is the name of your agency/business?
Please select the type of business that most closely aligns with your work

Farmer/rancherSmall-scale grower/producerFood Truck OperatorRestaurant OwnerMeat ProcessorPersonal Chef/CatererSmall Food Business OwnerCottage Food ProducerOther
Please describe your agency/business and/or the services/products that you offer in the community.
How long have you been doing this work?
Understanding Current Efforts

The following questions will help to provide information related to your current efforts and share perspectives on the issues and opportunites related to your business.
Please select all of the growing and raising activities that you are currently involved in (select all that apply)

Growing fruitGrowing vegetablesGrowing grainsRaising meatRaising eggsDon't grow and/or raise any foodOther
Approximately how many acres do you have in production?
Approximately how many animals do you finish each year?
Approximately how many dozens of eggs do you produce each year?
Please select all of the storage-related activities that you are currently involved in (select all that apply)

Storing refrigerated products (for example, fresh produce)Storing frozen products (for example, frozen meat)Storing shelf-stable products (for example, canned pickles, dried beans)Don't store any foodsOther
Please select all of the Preparing and Selling-related activities that you are currently involved in (select all that apply)

Preparing value added food in a commercial kitchenPreparing value added food using cottage food regulations (home kitchen)Preparing meals in a commercial kitchen and selling directly to consumers (food truck, physical restaurant)CateringSelling products directly to consumers via a physical site (farmers market, farm stand)Selling products directly to consumers via deliverySelling products directly to consumers via an online market placeOther
Please describe your catering business. For example do you work out of a commercial kitchen, do you prepare meals in people's homes, or some other business model.
Which of these best describes how you operate your business?

It is a hobbyIt is something I do part timeIt is my full-time jobOther
Which of these best describes your current capacity in operating your business?

I am not interested in expanding my current business operationI may be interested in expanding my current business operation if I had access to community resources (such as labor, land, access to a commercial kitchen)I am actively looking to expand my current business operationOther
Which of these challenges, if any, have you experienced related to your business? (Select all that apply)

Lack of land to expand my food production efforts (growing fruits and vegetables, raising meat and eggs)Lack of human resources to expand my effortsLack of community resources to support my business (i.e., commercial kitchen, storage, specialized equipment)Lack of market access for local salesRegulation and policy challenges (i.e., permitting)Transportation challengesClimate related challenges (weather, location)Lack of experience and/or knowledgeOther
How do you currently sell your products? (Select all that apply)

Online sales via a business website direct to individualsIn-person sales via direct orders from consumersPagosa Farmers MarketsOther Farmers MarketsFarm stand or mobile marketSell to restaurantsOn-site sales direct to individuals (retail food market, food truck, restaurant)Sell to institutions and organizations (schools, hospitals, food pantries)Other
Have your sales increased, decreased, or remained the same over the past three years?

IncreasedDecreasedRemained the same
What is the biggest challenge your business is currently facing?
What do you see as the biggest opportunity currently facing your business?
Archuleta County Community Food Hub
Healthy Archuleta is conducting a community planning process for a food hub. Several ideas have been explored with a group of community members who have varied experiences in the local food system, town and county planning, and business development. This group, the Food Hub Community Learning and Leadership Circle (CLLC), has helped to develop a vision for a food hub that centers around a community gathering space and provides opportunities to showcase local foods and local food businesses.

The proposed food hub would focus on a food retail experience with a food hall where the community can gather, purchase local and ready-made food, and support local food businesses. The below image provides a preliminary sketch of what such a space could look like. Some features of the food hub could include:

1. Central dining and meeting hall (space for community gathering and eating)

2. Vendor Stalls - offering space for small restaurants/food businesses to sell meals to community members and visitors

3. Local Food Market - offering local foods (fresh produce, meat, value added products) year round when available

4. Commercial/Commissary Kitchen - for use by local food businesses and community members and can be used to cater events and meetings in the central dining hall and community education classes

5. Dry and cold (refrigerator and freezer) storage

6. Greenhouse/grow dome for food production and education

7. Outdoor space for the farmers market in the summer season

These are preliminary ideas that Healthy Archuleta is seeking community input and feedback on. As you go through the remainder of the questionnaire, please refer back to this description and think about how this space could benefit your business, the community, and the local food system.
Food Hub Features

As described above, Healthy Archuleta is investigating what primary features of a food hub are most desired to best meet the community's needs. The following questions will help us better understand the current needs of the community related to these features.
Please select which of these food hub features you would be interested in for your food business. (Select all that apply). Please note, by selecting the food hub features below you will be able to provide more information about each of the food hub features you select.

Access to a commercial/commissary kitchenAccess to specialized equipmentAccess to dry storage spaceAccess to refrigerated storage spaceAccess to freezer storage spaceAccess to a retail market to sell fresh foods (i.e., fresh produce, meat)Access to a retail market to sell prepared foods (i.e., jam, salsa)Access to a vendor space to sell prepared meals (i.e., small restaurant space)Access to local foods to purchase and use in your food businessOther
Commercial/Commissary Kitchen

The following questions will gather additional information on your needs related to a commercial and/or commissary kitchen
Please select how you currently use kitchen facilities for your food business. (Select all that apply)

Prepare items in a home kitchen under cottage food certificationPrepare items in a commercial/commissary kitchenPrepare meals out of a food truckI don't currently use a kitchen space but would like access to oneOther
How often do you currently use a kitchen facility for your food business?

DailyA couple of times a weekWeeklyEvery couple of weeksMonthlyA couple of times a yearOther
Which of these components of a commercial/commissary kitchen do you use as part of your business? (Select all that apply)

Cook top/RangeOvenFryerWashing stationFood preparation spaceKitchen appliances (for example, food processor, mixer, etc.)Cookware (for example, pots, pans, etc.)
In addition to the list above, what other equipment(s), if any, do you use as part of your food business?
If you had access to a community commercial/commissary kitchen in a food hub, how often would you use the kitchen facility?

DailyA couple of times a weekWeeklyEvery couple of weeksMonthlyA couple of times a yearOther
Based on your current business, how would you like to be able to access a commercial/commissary kitchen? Please select all that apply

Hourly rentalDaily rentalMonthly rentalAnnual rental

Specialized Equipment

This section offers an opportunity to share what kinds of specialized equipment your food business could use.
Please describe what specialized equipment you would be interested in using as part of a food hub. Some examples shared by community members could include a seed separator, a commercial dehydrator, an egg washer, etc.
How often would you use this specialized equipment?

DailyA couple of times a weekWeeklyEvery couple of weeksMonthlyA couple of times a yearOther

Storage

This section offers you an opportunity to share about your dry, refrigerated, and frozen storage needs.

How often would you use the dry storage in a food hub?

DailyA couple of times a weekWeeklyEvery couple of weeksMonthlyA couple of times a yearI do not need access to dry storage
How often would you use the refrigerated storage in a food hub?

DailyA couple of times a weekWeeklyEvery couple of weeksMonthlyA couple of times a yearI do not need access to refrigerated storage
How often would you use the frozen storage in a food hub?

DailyA couple of times a weekWeeklyEvery couple of weeksMonthlyA couple of times a yearI do not need access to frozen storage

Retail Market

The following questions give you the opportunity to share information about your business needs related to market access
Please describe the products you would be interested in offering through a retail space at a community food hub.
Please select the retail sales options that you would be interested in using for your business (select all that apply)

Sell my fresh or frozen or value-added products wholesale to the retail market operator who then manages all sales for the central market stall at the food hubOffer my fresh or frozen or value-added products at a retail price at the central market stall and pay a fee to the market operator based on sales at the food hubOffer my fresh or frozen or value-added products in a farmers market where I run my own indoor stall at the food hubOther
How often would you have products to offer through a retail market? (Select all that apply)

Year-roundSeasonally (for example, fresh produce, fruit)WeeklySeveral times a monthMonthlySeveral times a year
Vendor Space

The following questions give you an opportunity to share your needs related to a vendor space
Would you be interested in having access to a prepared food vendor stall (similar to one that is in a food court) in the food hub to sell direct to consumers?

YesNo
Please describe the type of food you would offer (for example, coffee and baked goods, sandwiches, ethnic dishes, etc).
Please describe what you would need in terms of equipment and set-up to operate your food vendor stall in the food hub.
If you also had access to a central commercial kitchen in the same building, what additional equipment and/or set-up would you need in your vendor stall? For example, a cook top, prep station, dishwashing station, etc.
What would be the ideal size (in square feet) for a vendor stall that would provide your business with enough space to prepare and serve your food? Customers would be able to eat the food outside of your vendor stall in the dining area of the food hub.
How often would you be interested in using a vendor stall for your business?

1-2 months a year3-4 months a year5-6 months a year7-8 months a year9-10 months a year11-12 months a year
Approximately how much could your business afford to pay per month for the rental of the vendor stall?
Local Foods

The following questions give you an opportunity to share your needs related to local foods
Do you currently use any local foods in your business?

YesNo
How do you currently access local foods? (Select all that apply)

Grow/produce myselfPurchase directly from farmer/rancherPurchase from the Pagosa Farmers Market when it is openPurchase through a retail location (grocery store)Purchase through a regional food hub (Valley Roots Food Hub)Other
What local products do you purchase? (Select all that apply)

Fresh vegetablesFresh fruitsMeatEggsBreadShelf-stable foodsOther
Have you experienced any of the following challenges in accessing local foods? (Select all that apply)

Lack of consistent or reliable supplyLack of product diversity/need for specific itemsPrices are generally too highInconsistent quality of the productsChallenges finding or contacting farmers/ranchersFarmers/ranchers are unable to meet demandsI have not had any significant challenges/obstaclesOther
Which of the following reasons, if any, best describe why you do not purchase local foods? (Select all that apply)

Lack of consistent or reliable supplyLack of product diversity/need for specific itemsPrices are generally too highInconsistent quality of the productsChallenges finding or contacting farmers/ranchersFarmers/ranchers are unable to meet demandsI am not interested in purchasing local foodsOther
If local foods were available through a marketplace in a Community Food Hub, which foods would you be interested in purchasing? (Select all that apply)

Fresh vegetablesFresh fruitMeatEggsBreadShelf-stable foodsOther
Additional Community Food Hub Features

The following questions give you an opportunity to share your thoughts on additional community food hub features.

	Price
Hourly Rental
Daily Rental
Monthly Rental
Annual Rental

	Price
Hourly Rental
Daily Rental
Monthly Rental
Annual Rental

	Description
Dry Storage
Refrigerated Storage
Frozen Storage

	Description
Dry Storage
Refrigerated Storage
Frozen Storage

For each of the following Community Food Hub features, please indicate how important you believe they would be to include in the design.

	Not important	Somewhat important	important	Very important
Community Gathering Space (central dining area and large meeting room)
Educational classes (healthy cooking, food preservation)
Community garden
Grow dome or greenhouse for food production
Garden education classes
Composting facilities

Please describe other services or features you think the food hub should provide.
Do you think there is a need for a Community Food Hub in Archuleta County to support the local food system? Please describe your answer.
Given the proposed features of the Community Food Hub, please indicate your level of interest in participating.

Not at all interestedSomewhat interestedInterestedVery interested
Where do you think a Community Food Hub should be located to best support the community, visitors, and the local food system?

Downtown PagosaUptown PagosaOff Hwy 84Near PLPOAAspen SpringsOther
Please provide any other ideas or feedback you have about a Community Food Hub
Thank you

We appreciate the time and knowledge you have shared with us to complete this questionnaire before Monday, March 31st to include your responses in the analysis. If you have any additional questions or would like to learn more about the project, please contact Healthy Archuleta at fsfearchuleta@gmail.com.
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Food Hub Questionnaire

Background Information

Understanding Current Efforts

Archuleta County Community Food Hub

Food Hub Features

Commercial/Commissary Kitchen

Specialized Equipment

Storage

Retail Market

Vendor Space

Local Foods

Additional Community Food Hub Features

Thank you