"As consumers demand more local food and small producers increasingly seek local markets for better returns, regional aggregation and distribution channels are key to facilitating or hindering redevelopment of vibrant local food markets. In North America, this issue is increasingly addressed through food hubs. Our case studies illustrate the role that food hubs are (and could be) playing in the return to ‘local' food economies, and also offer more detailed and applied considerations of the above questions that we pose to policy-makers. While some of the observations we offer are similar to those found in other regions of the province, others are unique to Eastern Ontario. The need for food hubs seems to be universally recognized among local food advocates across the province, and the challenges of securing start-up resources are anything but unique. However, the operational specifics of each hub are very much defined by its location (and this can vary even within the same region) as well as the relationships among the various actors in the local food arena."