The Hub on the Hill’s mission is to support and strengthen our local food system, which we do by working collaboratively with a network of farmers, producers and organizations to fill gaps and find solutions that work for our communities.

A major challenge our region faces right now is the lack of cold storage facilities.  The nearest rental options are in Albany and Vermont, which are long and expensive hauls for producers who are nonetheless dependent on freezers to make the best use of 2- to 3-hour trips to the nearest overbooked USDA-inspected slaughter facility. While a lifeline for producers now, these freezer facilities are nearing capacity and won't even be an option in the near future. Farmers are challenged to pursue investments in cold storage independently because the cost is wildly out of reach and requires expensive power upgrades. 

The Hub itself is also experiencing the pinch of inadequate storage capacity. As we expand our institutional level efforts to help more people eat local foods, we need more space to accomplish this. This year, our farm to school operation is supplying 10,000 pounds of local food per month to 3,700 students, many whom are facing or are at risk of facing food insecurity at home. We want to keep growing this amazing way to nourish our youth and to do so, we need more space!

Expanded cold storage will bring numerous benefits to our communities.

• It will meet a direct and urgent need of local producers for local, large-scale cold storage. Closer rental facilities means reduced carbon emissions, more dollars held locally, and fewer costs for farmers who otherwise have to store further afield.

• The Hub can better operate, and continue to grow, its institutional supply efforts. In addition to our farm to school operations, our partnership programs to reach low-moderate income households are growing. These include Food as Medicine with Hudson Headwaters Health Network, FreshConnect with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County, and Fair Food Pricing with AdkAction.

• The Hub can process and store more excess product from farms, reducing waste and creating a market for food that farmers would otherwise be unable to sell, and it can process and store veggies to hold our community through the long winter.

• The Hub can better pursue wholesale-level aggregation of farm products and facilitate access to larger markets for our area producers with an ability to purchase and hold large quantities of local food for distribution.

Our goal is to raise $39,000 dollars to expand our cold storage at the Hub. With both our recent upgrade to three-phase electricity and our place in the food system aggregating and distributing local foods, we are prepared and eager to address this challenging crisis of inadequate cold storage in our region. With this amount, the Hub will be able to purchase:

• a 15x20 ft freezer;
• a 10x20 ft walk-in buildout of our current space; and
• a forklift, which will allow us to move large volumes of product on pallets.

Any level donation is helpful and if you aren't in a position to contribute, please share widely to help us get this funded- many people with just a few dollars will go so far!

*Donations needing to be classified as a tax deductible contribution can be directed through our fiscal sponsor. Details are on the payment page, when you select "mail a check" as your preferred method.

The Saranac Lake Rotary Foundation Inc.(14-1826563) is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law. A copy of the latest audited financial statement filed by the Saranac Lake Rotary Foundation Inc. may be obtained through the New York State Office of the Attorney General,
Charities Bureau, (212) 416-8401, https://www.charitiesnys.com/R...