Since the fall of 2016, Karen Karp & Partners has been working closely with the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust (MBFT) to develop a financially viable fish hub, modeled on the food hubs that are taking root around the country, in order to create new markets for Monterey Bay seafood. Monterey, California and its Bay have a...

Karen Karp & Partners (KK&P) was recently retained by the City of Charlotte, North Carolina to provide consulting services regarding improvements to the regional food system, specifically addressing the city’s farmers’ markets. The mission of the study is to develop recommendations for a market system that supports farmers, entrepreneurship, and food access while building community...

Late last year, Karen Karp & Partners was retained by the Memphis-based AgLaunch to develop an innovation strategy to grow the regional agriculture system of the Mid-South Delta Region. Consisting of 98 counties in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee, the Mid-South Delta is home to remarkable assets that support a multi-billion-dollar agriculture and food economy....

“Gastronomy Facing Sustainability: How new recipes should help to reduce food waste & loss and drive our food habits towards sustainability & health.” We are pleased to announce the 5th “Eating City Summer Campus”, inviting 28 participants aged 22-32, working & studying around food sustainability: Chefs, Food Procurement Officers, Farmers & Fisherman, and Foodies from...

Agriculture and food entrepreneurship have great potential to drive placemaking and create destinations for tourists and local residents, whether in small towns or major urban centers. By developing bespoke concepts and responsive strategies to reconnect a place to its food and agricultural economies, we help communities capitalize on the potential of their regional assets and...

Thundermist Health Center of Rhode Island challenged Karen Karp & Partners (KK&P) to develop a comprehensive strategy to transform Woonsocket’s food system. Thundermist is a progressive, federally qualified health center, with many partners in the Woonsocket community. KK&Ps project would be intended to complement the state Department of Health’s “health equity” mission: to implement place-based...

The Northern California Community Loan Fund (NCCLF) has received a $2 million Financial Assistance (FA) award and a $3 million Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) award. These were awarded by The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund of the U.S. Treasury. The HFFI award was spearheaded, in part, by research completed by KK&P that provided...

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo launched the New York State Grown & Certified program and announced a new $20 million food hub in the Bronx to increase access to farm-fresh produce. Karen Karp & Partners helped spearhead this initiative, working as facilitators of the Governor’s 2015 NYS-NYC Regional Food Hubs Task Force. Governor Cuomo’s commitment is...

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (BTCF) has launched  Fresh and Healthy Food for All, a five-year, $750,000 initiative to increase access to healthy food among low-income families and the elderly in Columbia County, New York. KK&P crafted the initial proposal which identified area opportunities for collaboration. It was developed after careful consultation with over 80 local community members...

Karen Karp & Partners recently presented suggestions for Oneonta’s prospective “Food & Beverage Innovation District” along Market Street. The proposal, contracted by Otsego Now, is part of a long-discussed food-hub plan intended to boost economic development in the region. Some of the suggestions for revitalizing the area included a collaboration with SUNY Oneonta’s catering service...

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (BTCF) has launched Healthy Food for All in Columbia County, N.Y., a five-year initiative driven by local stakeholders and made possible by generous support from local donors whose aim is to improve access to fresh and healthy food for all, especially low-income and elderly residents. The program was developed as an...