What Coastal Food Shed does

Coastal Foodshed is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit food hub, incorporated in Massachusetts in 2018 following its 2017 founding, that operates a regional local-food aggregation and distribution platform across Bristol and Plymouth counties in southeastern Massachusetts. The organization sources from 70+ local farmers and food producers and sells through a parallel channel stack: a year-round retail Food Hub Market inside the Kilburn Mill in New Bedford, indoor and outdoor farmers markets at Buttonwood Park, a Virtual Market e-commerce storefront (shop.coastalfoodshed.org) with home delivery and pickup, a Mobile Farm Stand that brings food directly into neighborhood locations, and institutional/wholesale channels including Farm to School and Farm to Food Relief. It serves two primary segments — individual consumers across 19 towns (including SNAP/HIP recipients, WIC and senior-coupon users, and health-conscious buyers) and the small farmer/producer base that depends on the hub for marketing, aggregation, distribution, and sales infrastructure they could not build alone. The organization also runs HIP Delivery in partnership with 30+ housing authorities, social service agencies, and food pantries to bring free local produce to SNAP-enrolled households. Pricing varies by vendor with a $9.99 flat Virtual Market delivery fee; SNAP, EBT, HIP, WIC, and senior coupons are accepted across channels.

The business model combines pass-through product sales (farmers set prices; Coastal Foodshed handles marketing, distribution, and aggregation with an implicit transaction/aggregation margin) with philanthropic grant and donation revenue from community members, federal and state agencies (USDA, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources), the City of New Bedford, regional community and corporate foundations (SouthCoast Community Foundation, Mass Cultural Council, Taunton Federal Credit Union, First Citizens FCU, Hawthorn Medical, Point 32 Health, among others), and family foundations. Since 2017 the organization has indirectly and directly sold and distributed over $3 million of local food, including $783,208 of SNAP/public-benefit purchases and $924,542 of free distribution to local food pantries, serving as supply-chain infrastructure for the Southcoast regional food economy while pursuing an explicit food-equity and food-access mission. The operating stack is a conventional WordPress CMS with an integrated e-commerce storefront rather than a proprietary technology platform; staffing is approximately 10-15 employees led by Co-Executive Directors Stephanie King and Abigail Hevey with a Board of Directors providing governance.

Name

Coastal Food Shed

Legal name

Coastal Foodshed

Website

https://coastalfoodshed.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Coastal Foodshed is a New Bedford-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit food hub that aggregates, markets, and distributes food from 70+ local farmers across 19 Southcoast Massachusetts towns via retail, farmers markets, e-commerce, mobile farm stand, and SNAP/HIP delivery programs serving consumers and small producers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Food Hub Services

NAICS

Special Food Services (7223), Community Food Services (62421)

SIC

Retail-Food Stores (5400)

akta.pro primary industry

Produce Markets & Greengrocers (CRAHAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fresh Food Subscription/CSA & Produce Box Retail (CRAHAHAG)

Keywords

• Local food hub
• Farmers market operations
• Online grocery marketplace
• Farm to school distribution
• Food access programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New Bedford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Product Sales - Retail & Direct to Consumer: Revenue from selling local food products through multiple channels: Food Hub Market retail store, New Bedford Farmers Market (indoor/outdoor), Virtual Market (online ordering with delivery/pickup). Farmers and producers set prices; Coastal Foodshed handles marketing, distribution, and sales aggregation.
2. Wholesale Distribution: Coastal Foodshed purchases from local farmers/producers and resells into the community through Mobile Farm Stand, Virtual Market, and Farmers Markets, filling gaps to provide variety for customers when farmers cannot attend markets themselves.
3. Donations and Grants: 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by donations from community members, state and local governments, private foundations, and corporate sponsors. Revenue supports operations, food access programs, and infrastructure development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Coastal Foodshed is a nonprofit farmer food hub that aggregates produce and goods from 70+ local farmers and food producers and makes them available to consumers through multiple channels: a physical Food Hub Market store, indoor/outdoor New Bedford Farmers Market locations, an online Virtual Market with delivery and pickup, and a Mobile Farm Stand. It also runs direct-delivery equity programs (Farm to School, Farm to Food Relief, HIP Delivery) and culinary education (Learn to Love Local) targeting Greater New Bedford and Southcoast Massachusetts, accepting SNAP/EBT/HIP/WIC and Senior coupons across all channels.

Product overview

Coastal Food Shed operates a multi-channel local food distribution network centered around its food hub model. The core offerings include the Virtual Market (online ordering platform), Food Hub Market (physical retail location), New Bedford Farmers Market (indoor and outdoor markets), and Mobile Farm Stand. Supporting programs include Farm to School, Farm to Food Relief, HIP Delivery, and Learn to Love Local culinary education. The organization acts as supply chain infrastructure connecting over 40 local farmers and 70+ producers to consumers across Bristol and Plymouth counties in Massachusetts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Virtual Market An online farmers market platform where customers can shop from over 25 farmers and local food producers, with options for home delivery ($9.99 flat fee to 9 towns on Fridays) or pickup at the New Bedford food hub. SNAP/EBT/HIP available for pickup orders.
• Food Hub Market A year-round retail store located inside Coastal Foodshed's food hub at Kilburn Mill in New Bedford (First Floor S1-57), open Tuesday-Friday 9am-5pm. Stocks produce, meat, dairy, eggs, honey, maple syrup, and more from 70+ local farmers and food producers, and accepts SNAP/EBT/HIP, WIC, and Senior coupons.
• New Bedford Farmers Market A year-round farmers market with both outdoor (Buttonwood Park, Thursdays 2-6pm, June-October) and indoor (Buttonwood Park Senior Center, Saturdays 10am-2pm, November-May) locations, offering produce, meat, honey, maple syrup, baked goods and more. Accepts SNAP/HIP, Senior coupons, and WIC coupons.
• Mobile Farm Stand A mobile retail location operated by Coastal Foodshed that brings farm-fresh produce and local foods directly into neighborhoods across Greater New Bedford, expanding fresh food access to underserved communities.
• Farm to School A program that brings fresh, local food into schools across the Southcoast by partnering with area farmers to supply fruits, vegetables, dairy, and more to school districts for use in school meal programs.
• Farm to Food Relief A program that purchases surplus and in-season produce directly from local farms and connects it with hunger-relief organizations and food pantries to distribute fresh food to food-insecure communities across the Southcoast.
• HIP Delivery A program that delivers free fruits and vegetables from local farms directly to SNAP recipients' doorsteps, working with over 30 partner organizations including Housing Authorities, Social Service Agencies, and Food Pantries to remove transportation barriers to food access.
• Learn to Love Local A culinary education program offering live cooking demonstrations and online tools that bring neighborhood chefs to share cultural dishes made with seasonally sourced local ingredients, helping consumers learn how to prepare local produce.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $3 million in local food sold/distributed since 2017
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Housing Authorities (30+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHIP Delivery program partners with over 30 Housing Authorities to deliver free local produce to SNAP recipients' homes, removing transportation barriers to food access.
• Social Service Agencies (30+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHIP Delivery program partnerships connecting SNAP recipients with local produce through social service network.
• Food Pantries (30+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership network for Farm to Food Relief and HIP Delivery programs distributing fresh produce to food-insecure populations.
• Revival Farm+ (Kathryn and Justin Shepard)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal farm partner featured in marketing materials showcasing farmer relationships.
• Area School DistrictscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFarm to School program partnerships supplying local fruits, vegetables, and dairy to school cafeterias across Southcoast MA.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Imperfect Foods: Online direct-to-consumer produce and grocery subscription service. Partial overlap with Coastal Foodshed's Virtual Market produce subscription channel, though for-profit and nationally scaled.
• Food4All (FoodConnect): Technology platform enabling farms and food hubs to run online markets, CSAs, and aggregated ordering. Comparable to Coastal Foodshed's Virtual Market channel but operates as commercial SaaS rather than a food hub operator.

Direct peers

• Farm Fresh Rhode Island: Nonprofit food hub operating farmers markets, a mobile market, and farm-to-school programs across Rhode Island. Nearly identical mission and operating model to Coastal Foodshed, just in the neighboring New England state.
• Red Tomato: Nonprofit produce distributor aggregating from Northeast farms and supplying retailers, institutions, and food banks. Comparable aggregation and local-food distribution mission in the same broader region.
• Local Food Hub (Virginia): Nonprofit food hub aggregating from Virginia farms and distributing through CSA boxes, institutional sales, and food access programs. Direct structural analog to Coastal Foodshed's hub-and-spoke model.
• Appalachian Sustainable Development: Nonprofit regional food hub operating farm-to-school, food access, and local food aggregation programs across Appalachia. Highly comparable multi-channel food hub structure.
• Rolling Harvest Food Rescue: Nonprofit that rescues surplus produce from farms and distributes to food pantries and hunger-relief partners. Closely comparable Farm to Food Relief program and community food service model.

Broad incumbents

• Grow NYC / Greenmarket: Large-scale nonprofit operating farmers markets, food access, and education programs across New York City. Same core farmers market and food access mission but at materially larger scale and budget.
• The Food Trust: Large nonprofit running farmers markets, farm-to-school, and SNAP incentive programs in Philadelphia and nationally. Comparable farmers market and food access programs at much greater scale.

Others

• Local Line: Food hub SaaS platform providing online ordering, CSA management, and wholesale tools to food hubs and farms. Adjacent technology enabler rather than direct operator, but directly relevant to the Virtual Market infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Coastal Food Shed