Past Work

  • CVS Health Zones

  • West Marion Community Forum

  • Foothills Food Hub

  • Feeding America of Riverside | San Bernadino

Case Study

Foothills Food Hub - Building a Better Foundation for Strategic Growth

Challenge:

As a newly formed nonprofit, Foothills Food Hub faced rapid growth and significant operational demands and organizational challenges, including:

  • A newly formed organizational infrastructure that needed to formalize

  • A need for clarity on strategic direction and role for the Hub to play for the county and various communities served

  • Overstretched staff and internal tensions

  • Several large grants in need of work plans and operationalizing the goals for the Hub

  • Disorganized processes and overwhelming workloads

  • Ultimately, a need for alignment across several key stakeholders to ensure long-term sustainability

Solution:

Over a four-month period, Amy co-led a structured strategic planning process, alongside Kathryn Gaasch of MDC, Inc, to guide clarity on strategy direction, resulting in a 3-year strategic detailed action plan.

Key elements of the project included:

  • A design team to define guiding questions and planning activities

  • Stakeholder engagement through 15 interviews and two community focus groups

  • Data analysis and insights through a SWOT analysis and Discovery (Data) Report

  • A series of planning workshops to align leadership and partners

  • A 3-year strategic plan, including clear goals, quarterly milestones, and success metrics

Impact:

  • Strengthened stakeholder engagement, ensuring alignment on key priorities: food access, youth engagement, and local farmer economic development

  • Positioned the Hub to participate in North Carolina’s Healthy Opportunities Pilot, securing significant Medicaid reimbursement funding

  • Re-engaged local government and community leaders, setting the organization up for securing a new facility at the community college to ensure long-term organizational growth and stability

  • Created a structured framework for grant reporting and organizational growth

  • Provided a clear roadmap to navigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities

By supporting the alignment of strategy and community needs, Amy helped the Foothills Food Hub transition from a struggling start-up to a well-positioned leader in regional food access and policy innovation.