Building Data Foundations at Nourishing the North Shore
After nearly two decades working in food security, from running soup kitchens to leading statewide SNAP advocacy campaigns, I've learned that the most mission-critical organizations are often running on spreadsheets, institutional memory, and sheer determination. They're doing extraordinary work, but they're often flying without instruments.
That's exactly where I found Nourishing the North Shore (NNS) when they reached out this winter.
A bountiful CSA box from Appleton Farms of Ipswitch, MA. Image: Nourishing the North Shore
A Mission Close to Home
NNS's mission of “ensuring equal access to healthy, local food to all members of the North Shore communities” resonates deeply with my own values. Having spent years at the intersection of food access and local agriculture, I understand both the urgency of getting food to people who need it and the complexity of doing so in ways that support farmers, preserve dignity, and build sustainable systems.
NNS runs three core programs: VEGOUT (free farmers markets and bulk distribution to partner agencies), Farm SHARE (subsidized CSA memberships), and a volunteer program that powers it all. They're scrappy, mission-driven, and deeply invested in their communities. But like many small nonprofits doing big work, they’re working with data infrastructure that can’t meet their ambitious goals.
The Challenge: You Can't CHANGE What You Don't Measure
When I started this project, NNS knew they needed better metrics, but they weren't sure what they were already tracking, where their data lived, or which metrics actually mattered for strategic decision-making. The team was collecting data in multiple systems without a clear sense of how it all connected or whether anyone was using it.
The Board wanted accountability and impact reporting. Staff wanted to stop collecting data that no one looked at and start tracking things that would actually inform their work. Everyone agreed they needed a dashboard someday, but nobody knew what should go on it.
The Process: From Chaos to Clarity
Over three months, I worked with NNS leadership and staff to build their data infrastructure from the ground up.
We started with a Data Inventory & Audit. Staff documented every data source they touched—spreadsheets, online forms, donor databases, volunteer tracking systems. This simple exercise revealed fragmented systems, duplicative data entry, and significant gaps in organizational data literacy. Some metrics were tracked by one person in their head. Others existed in three places with different numbers.
Then we got everyone in the room. I facilitated two staff workshops where the team brainstormed every metric they currently tracked, everything they wished they tracked, and—critically—whether any of it actually aligned with their 2026 strategic priorities. We used a simple three-question test for every metric: Is it aligned with our goals? Is it realistic to measure? Will we actually use it to make decisions?
The workshops surfaced hard truths: they were tracking things because "we've always tracked it" or "a funder asked once five years ago," not because the data informed anything. They also surfaced ambition: staff had great instincts about what would be useful (volunteer retention rates, cost per household served, participant satisfaction) but lacked systems to capture it.
We brought the board into the conversation. Through a survey and facilitated discussion at a board meeting, I helped board members articulate what they needed for governance oversight—not operational minutiae, but the metrics that would help them fulfill fiduciary responsibilities and track mission impact. Their priorities were clear: financial health (P&L to budget), reach (people served, pounds distributed), and efficiency (cost per household, fundraising ROI).
Finally, we synthesized it all into a KPI Framework. Working closely with Executive Director Tany Blasko, I developed a metrics framework that maps NNS's five strategic focus areas to 3-5 priority indicators each. The framework balances what staff need operationally with what the board needs for governance, distinguishes between metrics they can track now versus those requiring new systems, and creates a shared language for talking about impact.
The Outcome: A Foundation for Growth
By the end of March, NNS will have:
A clear inventory of all their data sources and known gaps
A prioritized metrics framework that ties directly to strategic goals
Buy-in from staff and board on what matters most
A roadmap for what comes next, including which metrics to implement immediately, which require new systems, and how to think about dashboard development
But more than deliverables, they'll have something harder to quantify: organizational clarity. Staff now know they're empowered to stop collecting data that doesn't serve a purpose. Board members understand what metrics will (and won't) appear in their reports, and why. Leadership has a tool for saying "no" to well-meaning but burdensome data requests that don't align with strategic priorities.
Image: Nourishing the North Shore
Why This Work Matters
Food security organizations are operating in an incredibly challenging environment right now. Rising need, stagnant funding, policy uncertainty, and compassion fatigue. The last thing they need is more administrative burden.
But good data isn't a burden. Good data is empowerment. It's the difference between guessing and knowing. It's the ability to say "this program works, let's do more of it" or "this approach isn't reaching who we thought it would—let's pivot." It's being able to tell funders and community members, with confidence, what you've accomplished and what you need to do more.
Organizations like Nourishing the North Shore are doing essential work by bridging the gap between charitable food systems and local agriculture, creating dignified food access, and building community resilience. They deserve infrastructure that matches their mission.
I'm grateful to have played a small part in building that foundation.