New Springdale hub sets out to streamline regional food systems
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The 45,000-square-foot Market Center of the Ozarks. Photo: Alex Golden/Axios
Market Center of the Ozarks, a Walton-backed project years in the making, opened Thursday in downtown Springdale.
Why it matters: The center will work to drum up business for Arkansas farms and local food entrepreneurs; cut down on food waste; address food insecurity; and get more locally grown food into restaurants, homes and institutions like schools and hospitals, center leaders told Axios.
State of play: Two organizations — Spring Creek Food Hub and the University of Arkansas' Division of Agriculture's Arkansas Food Innovation Center — will be the main operators of the center.
- They will act as liaisons between farmers and food entrepreneurs, with Spring Creek working directly with farmers and the Arkansas Food Innovation Center working directly with food entrepreneurs. The two organizations will work closely under one roof.
- Spring Creek works with 65 Arkansas farms, helping small farmers grow with training on things like packaging so they can be successful larger-scale sellers, director Anthony Mirisciotta told Axios.
The intrigue: With 45,000 square feet and 24/7 availability, the building offers the sheer space and equipment that small farmers and food entrepreneurs may not have access to, including a kitchen, a washroom, refrigeration, storage, and space for processing and bottling.
- A food truck operator who wants to cater an event but doesn't have the capacity can rent the kitchen for $25 an hour. A food entrepreneur who wants to package their creations for retail can do it at the center as well, Darryl Holliday, the food innovation center's director, told Axios.
- Spring Creek enables farmers who grow a product during a limited time of year and sell what they can at farmers markets to grow more and create products that can be used all year, Mirisciotta said.
The entrepreneurs who work with the market can ask for certain produce, and the market can coordinate with farmers to get it for them.
What they're saying: "Schools don't have time to call five different farmers and work on orders for one vegetable," Emily English, director of Northwest Arkansas Food Systems and senior program officer at Walton Personal Philanthropy Group, told Axios. She added they don't have the labor or equipment to chop and process vegetables, either.
- Enter the Market Center of the Ozarks. Spring Creek can aggregate from multiple farms to help get their produce into larger markets and serve a school that wants to incorporate sauce made with locally grown tomatoes, for example.
Zoom out: The center will also work with organizations like the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and Community Clinic to get fruits and vegetables to people struggling to afford food, including by buying and using excess produce from farmers and making prepared meals, English said.
What's next: "The intention is this can serve as a model that can be replicated around the country," she said.