Wholesale Aggregation & Distribution

Farm to Institution

In 2022, Essex Food Hub began focusing on Farm to Institution growth- building our aggregation, order management, and distribution for wholesale customers- with three main goals in mind:

1. Supporting local producers, by helping them access markets, reduce the administrative burden related to orders and distribution management, and free up resources to invest in their business.

2. Making it easier for institutions to access local foods, by providing a streamlined avenue to shop from multiple vendors with a single online order, pay with a single invoice, and receive it in a single delivery; and

3. Increasing access to local foods in our communities, by bringing more local food to more people.

Together, these three goals strengthen our local food system, our rural economy, and the public health of our communities.

Today, we are proud to offer the region's only online ordering platform selling wholesale products from various local producers with weekly distribution throughout the North Country, Capital Region, and even NYC.

As a regional wholesale distributor, Essex Food Hub connects our local farms to our communities, reaching people through institutions such as schools, hospitals, food pantries, restaurants, mutual aid partnerships and more!

Wholesale Producer Partnerships

Key to our success has been growing new partnerships with producers willing to dive into this with us, trusting the end result will help them better serve their business, their customers, the local food system, and our community.

In 2023, we grew our relationships with a few core partners to completely manage their wholesale ordering and distribution operations. In return, we are investing our resources into growing Farm to Institution operations and finding ways for collective efficiency, opportunity, and success.

Please read more about each of these partners below and join us as we celebrate this new journey together!

North Country Creamery

About: North Country Creamery is a 115 acre dairy farm that is 100% grassfed, Non-GMO, NYS Grown & Certified, and Animal Welfare Approved dairy. First-generation farmers Ashlee Kleinhammer and Steven Googin own and operate the small-scale, premium dairy, which produces cheese, milk, and yogurt in Keeseville, where their cows graze pastures overlooking Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains.

Reason for partnering with EFH: Our partnership with Essex Food Hub is our effort to give our all to what we do best: making the delicious grass-fed yogurts and cheeses our customers know and love, as well as a few newcomers that are in development (we are a finalist in the Dairy Product Innovation Competition!). It will also allow us to grow, giving us the administrative support we need to expand our winter cow barn and to build a solar array that will provide 110% of our farms current energy use, two of many projects in the hopper, all of which will make us more environmentally and financially sustainable.

Tangleroot Farm

About: Tangleroot Farm is a small fruit and vegetable farm in Essex, led by first-generation farmer Adam Reed. Tangleroot’s mission is to get their Certified Organic produce to as many people as possible while improving their triple bottom line of Quality of Life, Land Stewardship, and Community. Whether it's their minimal till practices to improve the soil and protect its biology or their door-to-door CSA delivery (especially to keep customers safe during COVID), they take pride in the community, their food, and their business.

Reason for partnering with EFH: We believe in the food hub's mission to strengthen the local food system. Providing delivery services frees up very scarce labor and the offering of our products on their website opens us to new customers throughout the Adirondacks which we wouldn’t have the capacity to take on otherwise. Farm owners only have so much bandwidth and the hub is offering crucial logistical support so we can focus on growing great food.

Crown Point Farm & Dairy

About: Crown Point Farm and Dairy is owned and operated by Mike & Michelle Kuba. It is their love for the Jersey Cow that led to their desire to open a micro-dairy. They pride themselves on breeding and raising Registered A2 Jerseys. Small scale dairying allows them to foster a symbiotic relationship between cow and soil. They embrace a regenerative process of seasonal grazing and natural fertilization, no synthetics on our pastures. Hay and grain are sourced locally.

Reason for partnering with EFH: Our partnership with Essex Food Hub serves as an opportunity to bring our products from pasture to shelves. We appreciate the advocacy for small farms like ours, this reach allows us to stay small, sustainable, and focus our resources on animal welfare and quality dairy.

Farm to Institution

Are you an institution interested in ordering wholesale?

Are you a producer interested in partnering to reach institutional markets?

Wholesale Producer Partnerships

North Country Creamery

Tangleroot Farm

Crown Point Farm & Dairy

Warning Confirm your age

Warning You have Alcohol products in your cart

Confirm your age

You have Alcohol products in your cart