Food Politics

Artisanal Brooklyn’s Next Hurdle: Distribution

Photo: McClure’s Pickles

The City Council is teaming up with the Pratt Center for Community Development for a unsexy but necessary-sounding study on the various distribution models available to small-scale, local food producers. Brine guy Bob McClure teamed up with a few market-minded peers last year for an experimental delivery cooperative, which did not last but may prove useful here. So far, little to none of the recent examination of the Brooklyn artisanal-food movement has taken into account that the overall health of any regional-food economy is only as strong as its distribution system. So, it’s not a knock to the local ghost-pepper industry, but anyone looking to find more than four bazillion kinds of hot sauce on the grocery store shelves during the next five years should support this study. [NYO]

Artisanal Brooklyn’s Next Hurdle: Distribution