Capitalizing on Collaboration was one of the winning proposals of the Cross KIC Sustainable Cities’ call for proposals 2020. In this research project, led by Amped and Eindhoven University of Technology, we have analysed and mapped the Flevoland-Amsterdam ecosystem to understand key issues related to the short food supply chain (SFSC) and find innovative solutions to overcome limitations faced by small and mid-sized farms. We expected that establishing a regional food hub would have great potential in this matter by managing the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products from local and regional producers. The research consortium therefore joined forces with key SFSC stakeholders to run a pilot with a food hub in place, with low emission vehicles running an optimized milk run, with near-full haul loads and with a multimarket strategy for last-mile delivery.
Bestendigen van samenwerking - Verkorten van de voedselketen
The recent interest of consumers in organic and/or local food is real and has encouraged various types of incentives and commitments in the Netherlands. However, local food distribution systems are generally underdeveloped and therefore fail when compared to global food distribution systems. Consequently, local farmers and their products cannot compete on price with food from the global market. In the context of Flevoland - one of the most fertile arable pieces of land in the world - that is a real shame. Therefore, a consortium of short food supply chain partners has teamed up to find out: how can we get more Flevoland food into the city of Amsterdam? Does it help if different short supply chain initiatives work together and collaborate in their logistics? This Longread presents the results of the first pilot: creating a regional food hub.
Image credits
Header image: Cross-KIC Sustainable Cities Amsterdam - Flevoland
Icon image: Wikimedia Commons - Healthy food