A collaboration between RG Foods, Food on the Move, FreshRx, the Tulsa Farmers’ Market, and Oasis Fresh Market identified that supply chain challenges present significant obstacles for small grocery stores […]
New Venture Advisors is seeing a growing number of Community Food Center and innovative food facility projects develop across the United States. We are constantly talking with teams and individuals […]
Sometimes the perfect storm for innovation is a crisis (or global pandemic) that pushes organizations further into their mission. Or it creates an opportunity to try something that under normal […]
Community Food Centers are an exciting development in food system infrastructure and make up an increasing share of our work at New Venture Advisors. In this screencast I’ll share some […]
Eastern Market is well known for its work as a large public market that has been a cornerstone in Detroit since the 1890s. Five different markets — a variety of year-round […]
New Venture Advisors launched the MarketSizer® and HubSizer® Toolsite earlier this year to enable anyone to conduct preliminary assessments of various types of food system infrastructure. The results allow users […]
A microblog series on the HubSizer® and MarketSizer® tools from New Venture Advisors. Over the past few weeks we’ve explored how to analyze a market for local food with the […]
A microblog series on the HubSizer® and MarketSizer® tools from New Venture Advisors. This week we’re looking into how to use the Local Produce HubSizer® tool to estimate the economics […]
There are so many “new” terms out there describing our food these days. They are on the produce racks (natural, organic, local, sustainably grown, fresh) and they are in the […]
The regionally-based, source-identified wholesale supply chain, once a creature of mystery reserved for the imagination of a handful of optimistic change-makers, is now a successful tool for creating market opportunities […]
In 2021, the Whatcom County Food System Committee conducted a community food assessment that pointed to key opportunities to build a more robust and resilient regional food system. New Venture Advisors partnered with Whatcom County staff and the Food System Committee to draft a Whatcom County Food System Plan that builds upon these findings. This Plan focuses on five key goals for building a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient food system, and was informed by an inclusive community engagement process. The Food System Plan will provide the county with a policy roadmap that will strengthen the local food system for years to come. (2023)
The Whatcom Community Foundation invests in activities and organizations that improve the ability of people to help themselves, increase connections among people, and take cooperative approaches to community issues. WCF is exploring the development of a local food campus on a waterfront property that would become a multi-tenant site, anchored by a collaborative production kitchen benefitting food access, school system, and community organizations. The goal is strengthening Whatcom County’s local food system by promoting health equity, forging tangible strategic connections between food production organizations, and helping farmers connect with institutional markets. The facility will also feature an incubation kitchen, demonstration kitchen, event and classroom space, collaborative office and conference facilities, and housing. New Venture Advisors developed the business case for this ambitious project and continues to support its development through engagement and operational development. (2023)