THE GOOD ACRE FOOD HUB - MINNEAPOLIS, MN

MARKET ASSESSMENT FOR FOOD HUB’S WHOLESALE PROGRAM SALES GROWTH

FEASIBILITY AND VIABILITY | 2023

The Good Acre (TGA) is a food hub that supports emerging and underserved farmers, food makers, and consumers with technical assistance, sales support, and more. Food Works Group partnered with TGA to conduct a market assessment for the food hub’s wholesale program and identify areas for growth in 2024 and beyond. Through in-depth stakeholder interviews with existing and potential customers, FWG identified market segments for growth, such as restaurant groups and value-aligned retailers, and sized the market potential in these segments with local sales and benchmarking data. Using this information, FWG developed a market sizing tool that allows TGA to understand sales potential, inform growth strategies, and track market penetration over time. View an excerpt of the market sizing tool here.

INSTITUTIONAL FOOD SERVICE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (K-12 NUTRITION SERVICES)

LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS | 2017 - 2019

Food Works Group’s Emily Paul created a suite of services for Minnesota public school districts to utilize for the purposes of building capacity, assessing needs, and writing the grant proposal. As a result of this work, The Good Acre was awarded a two-year grant for $384,000 to develop a vocational training and workforce development program to staff K-12 school kitchens with nutrition services professionals trained in scratch cooking methods that met federally-mandated nutrition standards. The comprehensive needs assessment process included community-led focus groups with individuals that have little access to traditional food service workforce opportunities. This project gleaned a deeper understanding of cultural nuances and sensitivities present when engaging with underserved communities and individuals.

FOOD HUB PROGRAMS AND OPERATION

STRATEGIC PLANNING, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT | 2016 - 2019

Food Works Group’s Emily Paul directed the formation and implementation of The Good Acre’s inaugural strategic plan, early business plan development, and the evolution of programs, services, and facility expansion during the organization’s first three years of operation. Emily oversaw implementation and operations for four core, revenue-generating programs and service areas:

  1. Commercial kitchen, including shared-use space, teaching kitchen, and CPG food business accelerator;

  2. Wholesale produce aggregation, warehousing, and distribution, including institutional produce sales, direct-to-consumer produce and CPG food product delivery service;

  3. Workforce development, including a vocational training program for K-12 nutrition service opportunities; and

  4. Farmer training and capacity-building program for sustainable, transitioning, and certified organic farms.

Additionally, her work brought together farm and wholesale teams on food safety, organic certification, warehouse and distribution services.