The team at Hub on the Hill in Essex takes local ingredients and transforms them into prepared meals for distribution and delivery. (Photo provided)

LEWIS — Adirondack Harvest and the Hub on the Hill have launched synergistic offerings to help businesses and institutions in the greater Adirondack region better connect with local food producers who wholesale.

Many businesses and institutions have echoed that they would like to be able to offer more locally grown food, as the Adirondacks are home to a large variety of farms, producing everything from fruits and veggies, eggs and meats to many value-added products such as artisan cheeses, charcuterie and cream-top yogurt. However, knowing where to start when buying local food wholesale can be time-consuming and confusing.

In response, Adirondack Harvest created a growing online wholesale database, has hired a Chef Outreach coordinator, and has expanded its Farm to Institution Outreach program. Additionally, the Hub on the Hill launched an online wholesale ordering and delivery service, where businesses and institutions can order a wide range of local food products online from one source.

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Wholesale database, chef outreach coordinator

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The new and growing Adirondack Harvest Wholesale Database serves as a place where wholesale-scale farms and local food producers list their wholesale-specific offerings, scale and delivery regions in one cohesive place so that wholesale purchasers can easily connect with local food producers.

Adirondack Harvest has also recently hired a new chef outreach coordinator as part of a three-year New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Smart Growth Grant. Additionally, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Essex County earned a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Local Food Promotion grant this winter, which has helped expand the Farm to School program to other types of institutions, like hospitals and daycare facilities.

Farm-to-institution educator Meghan Dohman and chef outreach coordinator and chef Adam Bechard are working to help businesses and institutional food service directors learn how to integrate seasonality into their menus, navigate budgets, connect with new producers, understand distribution options, and more.

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Wholesale ordering, delivery

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Similarly, The Hub on the Hill’s new online wholesale store allows wholesale purchasers to order a variety of locally grown products online from one place. The online wholesale store aims to streamline the ordering and delivery process for businesses and institutions that would like to offer more locally grown food.

For example, the Hub on the Hill’s new consolidated wholesale online ordering and delivery platform has helped Elderwood of Uihlein at Lake Placid offer their residents local strawberries from Juniper Hill and yogurt from North Country Creamery.

The Hub currently offers delivery services across the Central Adirondacks, Champlain Valley, as far north as Plattsburgh, and as far south as Albany, as well as weekly deliveries to New York City. The Hub aggregates a variety of locally produced fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy products, as well as products such as chicken stock, salsas and sauerkraut. Products can be packaged for retail or purchased in bulk.

More information about the Hub on the Hill and the areas the Hub serves are at www.thehubonthehill.org.