Growing Chefs – Class Chef Volunteer (April 2011 to present)
Greenchain believes one of the key solutions to the improved health of our society and a more sustainable environment is food literacy. Growing Chefs teaches school children, in over 50 BC schools, how to grow, cook, and eat healthy food.
Reeve Consulting, Vancouver (December 2011 to present)
Reeve Consulting is an experienced boutique consultancy specializing in ethical and sustainable purchasing. My responsibilities include:
- New business development and business strategy
- Researching ethical and sustainable purchasing initiatives
- Recommending and writing purchasing policies and procedures
LOCO Board Member (April 2013 to present)
LOCO is a growing alliance of local companies working to strengthen local communities, grow local economies, and build strong sustainable businesses.
Kamloops Downtown at the Market Feasibility Study (October 2015 to present)
Community Futures Thompson Country (CFTC), in line with local community interest, is researching the establishment of a year-round permanent public Kamloops food market.
Greenchain, in collaboration with Urban Food Strategies, Sustainability Ventures, and True Consulting, is researching, analyzing, and measuring the key criteria for a public market by using a range of techniques including: best practice research, stakeholder and community engagement on-line surveys, small group focus discussions, large-group open houses, and business planning and analysis.
Richmond Food Hub, BC (September 2015 to present)
A Richmond Food Hub Feasibility Study, funded by VanCity EnviroFund and the City of Richmond, is being conducted by the Richmond Food Security Society and Greenchain Consulting. It is taking the approach of talking directly with small and medium -sized producers in Richmond to identify what is it they really need to grow their local sales.
The Food Rescue Project (Mustard Seed), BC (September 2015 to present)
The Food Rescue Project is a strategy being administered by the Food Share Network, a collaboration among more than 40 non-profit food service providers, addressing and responding to the challenge of food insecurity and hunger in the Capital Region. This project will target these issues by diverting high quality, perishable food from the waste stream and redirecting it to low income people and families.
Greenchain is working with the group on developing a comprehensive business plan, maximizing the functionality of their Woo commerce platform, providing advice on stage 2 developments such as a commercial kitchen, leading a survey of hundreds of potential users, and developing their strategy plan based on survey results and other research.
River Select, BC (June 2015 to present)
River Select is the retail brand of a First Nations salmon fishery co-op, with a number of food service and retail products. Their business goal is to deal directly with customers to provide a fresher product resulting in higher margins for the fishery. Greenchain is working with them on identifying the best business strategy for their 5 hubs (3 local, 1 key account, and 1 export), pricing and margin structures, and leading their business development.
To date, we have secured a number of key partnerships that will facilitate the sales of River Select products across BC and begun to implement a pricing strategy that empowers brokers, distributors, and marketers to grow the business, all while retaining a profit for River Select and paying a fair price to the fishermen.
Vancouver Local Food Hub (October 2014 to present)
Greenchain Consulting partnered with FarmFolk CityFolk and Vancouver Farmers’ Market to develop a food aggregation service, the Vancouver Local Food Hub, that supports local farmers in their sales to local restaurants, retailers, and other food service businesses. A number of initial focus groups and surveys between producers and buyers identified the needs and components for this service.
These insights helped develop a business plan, policies, and operational procedures. Greenchain further helped launch the food hub by implementing an operational software program, recruiting a food hub co-ordinator and producers, and signing on food service customers.