Tahoe Food Hub
Project Overview
Client:
Tahoe Food Hub
Location:
Truckee, California, USA
Project:
How a Nonprofit Food Hub Works Infographic
Client URL:
Tahoe Food Hub
Distribution:
Two-sided postcards were printed for distribution and a 60”x40” banner was produced for use at events
Project Details
Background:
Tahoe Food Hub is building a food system that supports regenerative farming practices by increasing access to local food for North Lake Tahoe. By addressing local food access challenges at a systems level, they create a hub for local food. A local food system creates fair market opportunities for family farms and increases access to local food for their mountain community.
Challenge:
We needed to overcome the challenge of communicating how a nonprofit can earn revenue through an Earned Income Model and answer the often-asked question “What makes Tahoe Food Hub a nonprofit?”. It’s true that Tahoe Food Hub operates like a typical local food hub, but there was an important piece getting lost in translation. The organization’s proceeds from their food hub operation go to funding community programs instead of into the pockets of a CEO. Their outreach programs give support to farmers, provide fresh produce to families facing food insecurities and offer hands-on education about farms & food to local students – all which would not be possible without the money from food hub’s Earned Income Model and donations from the local community. An infographic was the perfect solution.
Solution:
By breaking down the key components of Tahoe Food Hub’s Earned Income Model – producers, market, community, outreach programs and donations – we were able to simplify the message by showing the role that each piece plays in the big picture and how operating the food hub not only connects food from local producers to the Truckee community but helps fund its outreach programs along with supplementary donations from supporters. The back side of the postcard acts as a legend explaining the organization’s goals, programs and marketplaces. This design helps answer the question “What makes Tahoe Food Hub a nonprofit?”
Design Process:
Not having much prior knowledge of an Earned Income Model, I really had to do a lot of research and discovery with the client to make sure I had a solid understanding of the concept and the unique way it’s implemented into their nonprofit. Sometimes, a process or idea is so ingrained into the inner workings of an organization or business that it can get lost on an outsider; it’s my job to digest these ideas and process them into a visual that resonates with a broad audience. To achieve this, I used sketches to show the client different placements and flow for the key components of the model until we found a combination that made the operation simple and easy to understand in fun, interesting way. The content from the client’s original provided document was reduced by nearly 25% through simplifying key messages and using visuals to replace complex explanations of the Earned Income Model.
Impact:
Creating a clear and concise message about how Tahoe Food Hub uses the Earned Income Model to support its programs makes it easier for potential donors to see the need for giving.
How this helps the planet:
This project supports climate-smart farming which helps mitigate climate change, strengthens communities by supporting local farms and ensuring local food access and educates people on the connection between climate change and eating local food.
“As a non-profit with an Earned Income Model, we have struggled with communicating how a non-profit can earn revenue. With the Infographic from Margo and High Mountain Creative, we have overcome that challenge and found an effective and efficient way to show how proceeds from our earned income model benefit our community impact programs. It will open doors and lower barriers to potential donors and help us achieve our programmatic goals.”
— Susie Sutphin, Founder/Senior Advisor, Tahoe Food Hub
Susie’s Photo by Daphne Hougard