Case Studies

How we help communities prepare for feeding people after disasters

We help cities and regions identify critical points of vulnerability in the parts of the food system that matter most for feeding people after disasters, to help them prioritize strategic investments for mitigation.

We develop the information, contacts and relationships needed for rapid, effective mass feeding mobilization at the local level. We identify proven strategies, but also create planning infrastructure for ongoing problem solving.

Our work leverages existing resources and builds local capacity, expanding disaster response efforts to serve more people, more effectively.

Client: Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization (RDPO)

Project: Regional Food System Vulnerability Assessment

Scope: Five-county region spanning Oregon and Washington, including Portland, other cities and rural communities

Services:

Food system hazard risk assessment (wildfires, flooding, landslides and ice storms)
Mass care feeding plans
Capacity evaluation
Stakeholder facilitation and engagement
Mitigation, resilience, and recovery planning

Impact:

RDPO used findings from our baseline assessment/scoping study to secure a FEMA UASI grant to further their food disaster preparedness work.
Our findings were used by the Oregon Hunger Task Force in a review of the state’s food assistance system commissioned by the Governor’s Office. Both reports are being used to help shape longer-term policy.
The project revealed critical deficiencies in county-level mass feeding plans and we worked with state emergency management to identify scalable solutions.
Identified points of failure at food distribution warehouses from wildfires, flooding, landslides and ice storms and engaged food warehouse companies in a public-private food supply chain advisory group.
Established a cross-jurisdictional working group to move forward planning priorities.

Client: The City of Toronto (Toronto Public Health and Toronto Environment & Energy Division)

Project: A High-Level Vulnerability Assessment of Toronto’s Food System

Scope: The Greater Toronto Area (GTA), including Toronto and its four surrounding municipalities with urban, suburban and rural communities.

Services:

Food system hazard risk assessment (flooding, heatwaves, and ice storms)
Capacity evaluation
Stakeholder facilitation and engagement
Mitigation, resilience, and recovery planning
Research and content development

Impact:

Our 2018 analysis predicted the 2024 urban flooding disruptions in Toronto, including the flooded major delivery route for the Ontario Food Terminal and damage at food bank facilities, providing substantive information for mitigation investments.
ARISE Canada (a private-sector alliance for disaster resilience) engaged City partners to activate private food companies to address the critical priorities we surfaced.
Our findings informed a Toronto City Council policy “to develop community food resilience action plans for vulnerable neighborhoods with critical food access issues.”
Established public-private sector working group to secure additional funding and move forward a set of shared recommendations.

Client: The City of Boston (Mayor’s Office of Food Initiatives and Office of Emergency Management)

Project: Resilient Food Systems, Resilient Cities: Recommendations for the City of Boston

Scope: Core neighborhoods within the official city limits of Boston

Services:

Food system hazard risk assessment (hurricanes, superstorms, heatwaves and ice storms)
Capacity evaluation
Stakeholder facilitation and engagement
Mitigation, resilience, and recovery planning

Impact:

Informed a restructuring of food resilience leadership, moving from a Mayor’s special initiative into the Office of Public Health Preparedness, which manages access to human services during emergencies.
The Massachusetts Food Policy Council used our findings to develop new climate resilience priorities and cross-jurisdictional action, including recommendations for the Massachusetts Local Food Action Plan which prioritized strengthening the stability of fresh food distribution centers.
Established new intragovernmental coordination and public-private sector agreements to address critical priorities (e.g., vulnerable access roads for food warehouses and The Greater Boston Food Bank).
Our seminal resilience assessment completed in 2015, the first in the U.S., was promoted by the United Nations’ International Urban Food Network as a successful model to help cities respond to the challenges of a changing climate.

Client: The Food Foundation (U.K.)

Project: International Disaster Food Planning Content for the Food Cities 2022 Learning Platform

Scope: Leaders, experts and practitioners worldwide

Services:

Research and content development. We were engaged to develop new content for a global learning platform to expand audience and partner engagement. We developed a series of five webinars and companion case studies (Tactics to Try) around major crises impacting food availability within urban areas.

Impact:

Grew learning platform engagement: webinars attended by 500+ leaders working globally to advance local knowledge and practice.
Expanded global reach: survey feedback showed the topics clearly resonated with people from cities in the global south and north.
Influenced policy: webinars featured over 20 international experts from the FAO, UN World Food Programme (WFP), C40, Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) and RUAF and content was used to advance policy discussions at C40, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) and MUFPP Global Forum.