Planning Library · Theory of change

From surplus to culture.

The nonprofit-funder-standard chain: what we put in, what we do, what we produce, what changes because of it, and the longer-term shift Groundworks contributes to.

Step 01

Inputs

→Founding director (Drew Keske) + phased operating team (cook, programming coordinator).
→$150K – $250K startup capital: earned-revenue design + grants + Founder's Table cohort.
→Board of directors (3 – 5 seats), fiscal sponsor bridge during IRS determination.
→1,500 – 2,500 sq ft site in McMinnville with kitchen-capable buildout.
→Relationships with corridor farms; education, technical-assistance, and funding partners still to be identified.

Step 02

Activities

→Purchase surplus and seconds from local farms at a fair, published farmer return.
→Operate a counter-service café with a seasonal, farm-sourced menu people eat often.
→Run a curated farm stand and marketplace; pursue SNAP / EBT retailer authorization before opening.
→Host weekly programming: workshops, film nights, cooking demos, youth work, guest talks.
→Publish pricing, sourcing, and impact numbers — transparency as a practice, not a report.

Step 03

Outputs

→Year-1 target: ~$295K – $360K revenue with ~25 café transactions/day.
→500+ EBT transactions processed in Year 1.
→40+ programming events/year owned and curated by Groundworks.
→Multi-farm sourcing relationships with published pay-per-pound reporting.
→Founder's Table cohort of 100+ named supporters underwriting the open.

Step 04

Outcomes

→Neighbors eligible for food benefits regularly access fresh, local produce through SNAP / EBT once retailer authorization is confirmed.
→Local farms recover value from surplus that would otherwise be disposed of at a loss.
→A durable everyday gathering point exists where food is treated as culture, not category.
→New food-and-farm leaders learn on-site through workshops, apprenticeships, and youth work.

Step 05

Impact

→The Banks–McMinnville corridor food system shifts modestly but measurably toward the farmers who grow here — with a farmer return well above the conventional system's 11.8¢-per-dollar baseline.
→The idea of a community food culture space becomes visible, replicable, and boring in the best possible way.

Underlying assumptions

What has to be true for the chain to hold.

A well-run café with a farm-sourced menu will do the transaction volume needed to anchor operations.
Local farms are willing to sell surplus and seconds at a scheduled cadence when pricing is fair and paid promptly.
SNAP customers will use a farm stand that welcomes them without ceremony.
Grant funders on the Banks–McMinnville corridor will underwrite programming (not baseline operations) once earned revenue is real.
Board recruitment is possible on this timeline given the region's food-systems talent density.

Population served

Residents of McMinnville and the broader Banks–McMinnville corridor — with intentional focus on SNAP-eligible households, families with young children, and the working farmers of the Banks–McMinnville corridor who supply the space.