Recently, New Venture Advisors presented to the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health Community Health Academy. The Community Health Academy is a learning collaborative of mayors and city leaders […]
New Venture Advisors is privileged to work alongside powerful forces driving progress toward building food systems we can all be proud of. These forces—our collaborators, partners, clients, visionaries—are leaders in […]
Food systems are made up of people engaged in creation, commerce, and community from production to consumption. For any food business, policy, or plan to be viable, it must take […]
The City of Wichita (pop’n 390,000), located in Sedgwick County, Kansas, is in the south-central part of the state. For the past 20 years, the Health and Wellness Coalition of […]
A Food System Plan, as defined by the American Planning Association, is “a set of interconnected, forward-thinking activities that strengthen a community and regional food system through the creation and […]
As communities mature in their food systems work, they often recognize that they need a roadmap to guide their work more strategically. We’ve heard from communities big and small across […]
The Linn County Food Systems Council has ambitious goals to improve Linn County’s food system from production to consumption in order to build resilient supply chains that feed the community […]
If ever there was a time to seek solutions toward building more resilient communities, it is now. Regardless of social and political debates around climate change, society has reached a […]
Food has never been a bigger story than since the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. The news has been heartbreaking and at the same time awe-inspiring to see the scale […]
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 […]
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)