Hubbing with Food Hubs!

Hi! Rachel B here - I wanted to share an update about an exciting training opportunity I've had. I'm a member of the 2016 cohort at the University of Vermont's Food Hub Management Certificate Program.  This exciting program launched last year, and boasts an incredible roster of instructors who have been working on food hubs and local food supply chains since before they were cool.

(What's a Food Hub?)

As part of the program, I traveled to Vermont in early January for a week of intensive classroom time and field trips. Here I am (seventh from the left) with my classmates at Mad River Food Hub. The group was from all over the country and world - as far away as Hawaii and Finland - and brought a huge range of backgrounds and skills (even four-month-old Zadia, from Las Vegas... she was an expert napper!).  And I'm proud to say, the Michigan contingent was the strongest, with six of us attending!

Now that I'm back in Michigan, I'll continue the online portion of the course until May. I'll be learning about supply chain logistics, business planning management, financing and fundraising, food safety, risk management, and many other topics that I'll be able to immediately apply to the operations of KVCC's Food Innovation Center Food Hub - and, hopefully soon develop some similar courses at KVCC for our students, food industry professionals, and budding entrepreneurs! 

Are you interested in a career in the food system? Come talk to me - we are looking for lots of student input as we develop the degree offerings at the FIC, and I'd love to hear from you.

My email: rbair@kvcc.edu

My phone: 548-3305

My office: Food Innovation Center, room 104