Last month, New Venture Advisors had the opportunity to coach twelve fellows of the Good Food Business Accelerator for a full day session. What an incredible program and inspiring group of entrepreneurs! The Good Food Business Accelerator gets farm and food businesses ready for prime time, giving them the skills to launch or scale up, […]
We became aware of the plight of rural grocery stores a few years ago. Through USDA funding we have begun to research if and how a rural grocery store can viably serve as a food hub to strengthen its bottom line. This blog post by Saloni – Rural Grocery Stores as Food Hubs – 2 […]
Access to healthy, fresh and affordable food is unfortunately not a given in all parts of the globe, nor in the U.S. Improving food access is a founding tenet of the good food movement, and today there are many national, regional and local organizations with missions dedicated to improving food access across all demographic levels […]
In January Wholesome Wave hosted the Transforming Food Access Summit in Atlanta. We attended the conference to co-host a session with Farm Fresh Rhode Island, a food hub in Providence that is having tremendous impact on community health. Our panel explored the intersection of local food and healthy food access. It was an exciting opportunity […]
As the year comes to a close, many of us are reflecting on the year behind and making plans for the year ahead. I always find it inspiring when the NVA team meets to talk about how we’re doing, what we’re learning and the trends we’re observing. We use these insights to refine internal processes, […]
The word interview typically brings to mind a discussion for the purposes of hiring, or a type of conversation that journalists have in order to write an article. Interviews are not often regarded as a tool for the development of business strategy. Yet the act of intentionally asking another person questions, either in person or […]
One thing I love about working in local food, and with food hubs in particular, is how the space is ever evolving. Planning organizations and current or aspiring food hub operators are constantly evaluating the business model – identifying opportunities to better serve their growers, improve access to local food in their community, and increase […]
Two weeks ago the Good Food Business Accelerator kicked off its second year. The GFBA is a fellows program that assists Midwest farms and food entrepreneurs with mentoring, training, sales support and financing to launch and grow their businesses. I worked with FamilyFarmed.org in the conception of and strategy for the accelerator, and conducted trainings […]
Traditionally, New Venture Advisors’ projects have been catalyzed by an individual or group passionate about strengthening their local food system. These community leaders often believe that market-based solutions might be the answer, and look to food hubs or food-related enterprises to spur development. From that hypothesis, we work with local teams to conduct market assessments […]
Earlier this month I spent a week in New England conducting sales and marketing trainings for the Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program and the Carrot Project. They invited educators to offer trainings on finance, marketing and management to individuals that provide business assistance and capital to agricultural and food enterprises. It was a wonderful […]