Montgomery County’s Office of Food Systems Resilience has awarded Seven Sisters Food Hub, a new venture from Moon Valley Farm, a $550,000 grant to build and operate a food aggregation facility in the County. Seven Sisters Food Hub (“Seven Sisters”) will leverage Moon Valley Farm’s 15 years of operating experience and strong regional relationships to establish new sales partnerships between small local farms and large institutions, such as schools, hospitals, and restaurants.

The project is expected to:

• Increase production, sales, and access of local food
• Create 10 jobs for local residents in its first year, growing to more than 30 by the end of the four-year grant period
• Provide refrigerated transportation, cold storage, processing and distribution
• Reduce food waste by creating markets for surplus and cosmetically imperfect produce

“Montgomery County has more than 100 farms producing food, but many smaller farmers don’t have the capacity to sell to schools, hospitals, restaurants and other large customers,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “This investment helps close that gap, creating new markets for farmers and keeping more of the money we spend on food in our regional economy.”

Maryland institutions spend an estimated $91 million annually on food, and State institutions are required to work toward purchasing at least 20% of their food from local sources. Seven Sisters Food Hub will bridge the gap between institutional demand and local capacity by providing the infrastructure small producers often cannot access independently, including physical infrastructure, traceability software, and logistics coordination.

The grant award includes $300,000 in grant funding awarded to Montgomery County government through the Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) to be used for facility construction and capital needs.