Caroline Myran

Market Research Lead

 

Caroline is a food-systems analyst, a farmer, and a specialist in values-based local food procurement. Before joining New Venture Advisors, she spent eight years in non-profit communications, media relations, and fundraising for mission driven organizations and international NGOs. She also worked in rural Montana to develop a farm to school program that addressed food insecurity and food access. As a farmer, she has worked on farms in Vermont, Montana, New York, and Massachusetts. Her graduate thesis focused on connecting local producers to wholesale markets in traditionally underserved communities in Western Massachusetts.

Most recently, she was the Director of Farm to Fork initiatives at ag-tech start-up, ripe.io, a blockchain-based platform providing traceability of produce from farm to plate. Currently, Caroline leads market research, food system analyses and food center feasibility studies for NVA. Her projects have spanned across the U.S. from Texas to Virginia to the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin.

Caroline has an M.S. in Sustainability Science with a concentration in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a B.A. in Environmental Policy from Barnard College, Columbia University. She lives in Upstate NY with her husband and daughters.

 

 

 Whatcom County Food System Plan

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)

 Whatcom Local Food Campus

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. NVA developed the business case for this ambitious project and continues to support its development through engagement and operational development. (2023)