Founded in 2014, The Good Acre is a nonprofit food hub whose mission is to connect and strengthen farmers, food makers, and communities through good food. The organization does this by providing one-on-one grower support services to small, local produce farmers, creating wholesale markets that pay an equitable price to farmers, and supporting small food businesses through their shared-use commercial kitchen rental and CPG focused business workshops. The Good Acre also is home to VoCul, a vocational culinary training program with a farm-to-school focus that is aimed at building up a workforce of skilled culinary professionals.
In 2021, we launched a multi-year partnership with Second Harvest Heartland that aims to confront racial disparities in hunger by sourcing local produce from farms owned and run by people of color.
Strategic Priorities
- Embody the Mission – Offer a well-designed blend of successful initiatives that contribute to the public good; meet the needs of diverse stakeholders; fulfill the organizational mission; generate essential revenue; and use best practices in their design, delivery, and evaluation
- Be a Good Partner – Foster focused, strategic, trusting, productive relationships and mutual initiatives to advance the success of small farmers, our regional food system, and The Good Acre
- Manage and Steward – Implement a series of organizational development best practices that provide a solid financial and institutional foundation to ensure the vibrancy and longevity of The Good Acre
- Empower and Include – Engage a broader array of key stakeholders in the decision-making, stewardship, and governance of the organization
Annual Budget: $1,700,000 – Earned Income, Foundations, Individual Contributions
Skills
The Good Acre is seeking board members with skills in the following areas:
- Facilities and Real Estate
- Fundraising
- Human Resources
- Public Policy and Advocacy
The Good Acre’s board is actively working towards adding people of color to the board so that we more closely match the community that we serve: more than 90% of the farmers that we serve are BIPOC.
Information
- Number of members currently: 9
- Number of members needed: 2
- Meeting time and frequency: 6 meetings annually
- Meeting location: St. Paul
Expectations
- Time Expectation: Up to 8 hours/month
- Financial Contribution Required: Yes, at a level meaningful to the board member.
- Service on Committee Required: Yes
- Committees: Executive, Finance, Governance, Other
- Length of Term: 3 Years
- Renewable: Yes
- Does nonprofit carry liability insurance? Yes