It may have been the pandemic that drove local farmers to create a virtual food hub to deliver fresh locally grown produce directly to buyers, but the need for a structural, localized food system has kept it growing ever since.
“The reality for small farms is that direct sales means the farmer has to be the person growing the food, the person transporting it, and the person marketing it — they have to be all the things,” says Dave Kranenburg, founder of the Green Circle Food Hub operating as Graze & Gather.
“There needed to be something else that catered to small farms that are growing unique ingredients and unique varieties to get it to the people who are looking for those things. That’s where the food hub comes in — we take on all the coordination, logistics, marketing, and sales so the farmer doesn’t have to.”
Based at Kendall Hills Farm in Orono, Graze & Gather handles all the behind-the-scenes work so buyers can have one centralized place to find a variety of locally grown products while local farmers can focus on what they do best.
“There’s a noticeable taste difference between food produced and harvested close to home and food that ripens in shipping containers as it travels across the continent,” Kranenburg points out. “The additional benefit is that buyers can say to their customers ‘This is coming from a farm just down the road from us and we’re helping to build the local economy.'”
The Green Circle Food Hub was developed by Graze & Gather in 2025 in partnership with Peterborough County, the City of Peterborough, and the City of Kawartha Lakes as part of the Kawartha Local Food Wholesale program.
The program aims to increase the capacity for local food distribution by supporting expanded production and procurement. Originally launched in late 2023, it began with local food producers and buyers participating in group training and one-on-one coaching to better understand the possibilities that exist, followed by the development of the Green Circle Food Hub in partnership with Graze & Gather.
The final stage of the Kawartha Local Food Wholesale program, the Green Circle Food Hub is now onboarding local food producers and buyers such as restaurants, specialty grocery stores, caterers, food trucks, and more.
“We’re open to working with anyone who’s looking to showcase local ingredients and wants to delight in the flavours of the region,” says Kranenburg.
For more information on Graze & Gather, visit grazeandgatherfood.ca. To get involved with the Green Circle Food Hub, email eat@grazeandgatherfood.ca or call 905-744-6434.
The Local Advantage in Peterborough County is a branded editorial feature series celebrating the farmers, food producers, food retailers, and agri-tourism businesses that make The Kawarthas thrive, created in partnership with Peterborough County’s Economic Development & Tourism Division.
Agriculture is a key economic driver and a point of pride for Peterborough County, with local farms producing a wide variety of high-quality goods, from traditional crops and livestock to organic and specialty products, reflecting the strength and diversity of this vital sector. With a growing focus on sustainability, local food systems, agri-innovation, and agri-tourism, agriculture offers strong potential for growth and diversification.
The Local Advantage with Peterborough County series spotlights the Kawartha Choice FarmFresh and Kawartha Local Food Wholesale initiatives, which aim to strengthen connections from farm to table across our region.
For more information about economic development and tourism in Peterborough County, visit www.ptbocounty.ca/ecdev and The Kawarthas Tourism at thekawarthas.ca.
