Edible San Diego Issue 45 January/February 2018

“
First we eat, then we do everything
else,” wrote M.F.K. Fisher. Food is
the grounding nourishment of our
lives, so it’s no surprise that a community’s
urgent needs—hunger, food insecurity,
and waste—often revolve around food. In
the face of these entrenched issues, local
nonprofits are sowing solutions to grow a
vibrant and healthy food system.
San Diego County is home to over 10,000
nonprofits. Together these organizations
generate nearly 15 billion dollars a year
and account for nine percent of the local
workforce. San Diego recently topped the list
of America’s most charitable communities.
Our county’s nonprofit sector—including
staff, beneficiaries, donors, volunteers, and
advocates—is a force to be reckoned with.
Nonprofits are uniquely equipped to
meet needs in ways government programs
and for-profits cannot. They are nimble,
efficient and, because they rely on the
community they serve for support,
inherently collaborative. Within the food
system, San Diego’s nonprofits count chefs,
educators, farmers, donors, and food policy
advocates among their stakeholders.
In this story series we’re taking a look
at food nonprofits and the solutions
they generate within our regional food
system. We’ll highlight three core areas of
impact—social enterprise, food justice, and
community engagement—and introduce
you to the organizations working at the
frontlines. Up first: social enterprise.
Impact, Accelerated
Mission Edge—an organization that
supports nonprofits with back-end
operations—recently launched San Diego
Accelerator and Impact Lab (SAIL) to help
organizations generate, innovate, and build
revenue-generating programs. “Because
demand is increasing, nonprofits have to
figure out how to efficiently and effectively
raise money to provide their services,”
says Director of Programs Alicia Quinn.
Rather than relying only on traditional
philanthropy, they’re designing fresh ways
of bringing in funds while simultaneously
propelling their mission forward.
“Necessity is the mother of invention”
applies here. Social enterprises increase selfsufficiency
and financial sustainability by
diversifying funding, allowing organizations
to generate revenue without relying on
donors and grants. Quinn also credits the
uptick in social enterprises to the role of
millennials. “The emerging generation of
philanthropists is focused on making an
impact and getting engaged, not just writing
a check,” she says. Increasingly, funders want
to get involved and use their purchasing
power to support social enterprises.
Meet the Innovators
Take Kitchens For Good, a workforcedevelopment
nonprofit. Kitchens For
Good tackles entrenched issues of food
waste, hunger, and unemployment with one
integrated solution: culinary job training
for people who face barriers to employment.
The organization provides transitional
employment to its culinary students, who
use gleaned food to make healthy meals for
hungry families. The organization also offers
catering and artisan condiments, giving
donors—especially millennials—the chance
to support the mission with their purchase.
(Taste Kitchens For Good’s spicy orange
marmalade or IPA-infused mustard and
you’ll find isn’t a hard sell.)
“Kitchens For Good ensures its own
sustainability by building a revenuegenerating
food enterprise at the core of every
kitchen,” says Senior Director Aviva Paley.
These enterprises generate most of Kitchens
For Good’s budget—nearly 70 percent—and
sustain its mission of breaking cycles of food
waste, hunger, and unemployment.
Solutions for Change also had job readiness
in mind when it launched Solutions Farms,
an organic, closed-loop aquaponics farm in
Vista. Solutions for Change works to solve
family homelessness and Solutions Farms
Nonprofits are uniquely equipped to meet needs in ways government
programs and for-profits cannot. They are nimble, efficient and, because they
rely on the community they serve for support, inherently collaborative.
January-February 2018 edible San Diego 33
Photo courtesy of Kitchens for Good Photo courtesy of Solutions for Change