California Freshworks

Services: Impact Measurement & Evaluation
Client Type: Foundation / Impact Fund
Geography: Regional

The Objective

The California FreshWorks program, a $273M healthy food financing initiative launched by a coalition of public and private partners led by the California Endowment, engaged Pacific Community Ventures, the Sarah Samuels Center, and other researchers to evaluate the health, social, and economic impact of FreshWorks.

The Approach

Pacific Community Ventures and the research team conducted interviews with FreshWorks investors, key partners, and other stakeholders to document the development and implementation of FreshWorks, identify the types of impact the program was seeking to support, and explore key challenges and opportunities to improve FreshWorks.

Pacific Community Ventures and the research team developed a comprehensive evaluation approach that included a robust set of metrics and processes for assessing FreshWorks’ impact that provided insights into the extent to which FreshWorks was providing fresh food access and driving positive social and economic outcomes within underserved communities.

The Results

Pacific Community Ventures and the research team published three public reports documenting the impact of the FreshWorks program and its development and implementation. These Include:

• California FreshWorks: A Case Study Examining the Development and Implementation of FreshWorks
• The Social and Economic Impacts of FreshWorks
• California FreshWorks Food Access Report

The FreshWorks team has conducted a statewide market analysis and capital needs study to address the evaluation’s recommendations for improving FreshWorks, and to develop a business plan that evolves FreshWorks into a statewide, multi-lender platform for investment in healthy food projects across California.