PARTNERS FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES - TORRINGTON, CT

ORGANIZATION-WIDE PLANNING AND PARTNER PROSPECTING FOR EXPANDED FOOD HUB OPERATIONS

LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS, FEASIBILITY AND VIABILITY | 2023

Food Works Group (FWG) supported Partners for Sustainable Healthy Communities (PSHC) to support their program, Northwest Connecticut Regional Food Hub (Food Hub), plan for their organizational future. This work included exploring new partnership and operational opportunities, spawned by the increased growth and demand for farm sourced food in the region. FWG developed partnership criteria that were critical to the mission, vision, and success of the food hub, as well as communications materials to inform the outreach and assessment of potential partners. This work informed a landscape analysis in pursuit of developing a list of potential partner organizations. FWG then developed a scorecard for the Food Hub to analyze various partnership opportunities and build consensus. Phase 2 of this work included the identification of a partnership opportunity, support of the Food Hub’s transition to a new organizational structure, and the development of stakeholder communications materials for messaging the partnership to the community.

ENSURING SUSTAINED FOOD HUB GROWTH THROUGH FINANCIAL AND COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING

FEASIBILITY AND VIABILITY, FINANCIAL MODELING | 2024

The Northwest Connecticut Regional Food Hub (Food Hub) is a program of Partners for Sustainable Healthy Communities that, since its founding in 2017, has introduced and managed innovative partnerships in the community to get Connecticut-grown food to those who need it most, including to K-12 schools, healthcare providers, food pantries, and wholesale customers. The Food Hub supports a network of more than 40 farmers with food safety training, marketing, sales, and logistics and has seen increased demand for its programs and services in recent years. The Food Hub has engaged with Food Works Group (FWG) to identify the best opportunities for programmatic and financial sustainability by developing a financial pro forma and stakeholder communications plan for ensuring continued growth and success for many years to come. FWG will also engage the Food Hub’s newly formed Advisory Committee to inform this work, as well as community stakeholders, farmers, and Food Hub staff. Finally, FWG will recommend best practices for program organization, staffing, and other critical services to ensure long term financial sustainability.