Tasty Network Launches in Seattle

On January 28 & 29, 2010, my colleague Margaret and I joined representatives from 10 other nonprofits from across the United States at FareStart in Seattle to help launch a national network of food service training and social enterprise programs.  These organizations -- from Boise, Chicago, Boston, DC, Ft. Lauderdale, St. Louis, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle and Tacoma -- all provide training to individuals facing barriers to employment (such as homelessness, addiction, incarceration and developmental disabilities), prepare nutritious meals for people in need, and self-generate revenue through social enterprise.  Over the year ahead, we seek to harness our collective experience and capacity to develop and replicate self-sustaining models that combine food service training, job creation, and nutritious and affordable food to address rising unemployment and hunger.

In its press release, FareStart noted that "[t]he summit set a framework for sharing experience and documenting best practices – to the benefit of both organizations that decide to participate in the networked approach, and also those organizations looking to replicate this model in their community. Specific action items and timelines were agreed to in a number of focal areas, including governance, branding, shared resources and membership.  At the conclusion of this first summit, participants enthusiastically signed on to help incubate a collaborative, national network that supports the growth of food service training and social enterprise, providing tangible benefits to its members and populations served and working to increase the collective impact of all involved." 

I'll blog again after this group reconvenes at the 2010 Social Enterprise Summit + World Forum in San Francisco in late April.