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A team of researchers has found new ways to make it cheaper—and greener—for small food producers to get their goods to customers.

The study, led by Alliance Manchester Business School's Dr. Arijit De and in the journal Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, looked at how local food hubs can work more efficiently. These hubs act like a central marketplace: farmers and small food businesses bring products to one place, where they are packed and delivered to shoppers.

While this sounds simple, the reality can be costly and environmentally damaging. Many producers operate alone, driving long distances to drop off small loads. This creates more van journeys, higher costs, and—despite being "local"—surprisingly high carbon emissions. Rural farms and food businesses face especially high distribution costs, as longer travel distances and fewer delivery points make transport less efficient.

The research team worked with Food and Drink North East (FADNE), a community business in Newcastle, which launched the "Local Heroes" hub during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. The hub helped more than 150 producers—from dairy farmers to craft brewers—sell directly to households.

Using real delivery data, the researchers created a model to test scenarios. The results show that if producers share transport more effectively, they can cut delivery costs and fuel use. Even better, replacing diesel vans with electric vehicles could reduce costs by nearly one-third and slash carbon emissions by up to 70%.