Food Insight Group

What Food Insight Group does

Food Insight Group (FIG) is a Durham, North Carolina-based social enterprise and research consultancy founded in 2016 by Beth Katz, PhD and Linden Thayer, PhD. The firm provides research, evaluation, landscape analysis, data collection, and strategic narrative services to nonprofits, foundations, state agencies, and other institutions working on food systems transformation. Core service lines are delivered through a "team science" model in which interdisciplinary staff (PhDs in nutrition and food economics, MPHs, a JD) collaborate with an external partner network that includes Seeds of Change Consulting, Raindrop Workshop, Project Reflect, SupplyChange, and Maya Systems Design. Methodologically, FIG combines qualitative inquiry (listening sessions, stakeholder interviews) with quantitative data collection on indicators such as job quality, food access, and public attitudes, and translates findings into reports tailored for policy and community audiences.

The firm's revenue is generated through project-based professional services contracts, with no publicly disclosed pricing and no software or platform product. Named engagements include co-leading the evaluation of California's Farm to School Incubator Grant Program with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, evaluating the Chef Ann Foundation's Healthy School Food Pathway across 118 school districts, co-authoring with the Urban Institute a study on wages and housing affordability among California's school food service workforce, conducting statewide school nutrition services vacancy and turnover studies in California, New York, and Virginia, and partnering with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation on Food is Medicine research. The firm also created the Durham Bowls chef-and-school-nutrition-manager competition in partnership with Durham Public Schools' Child Nutrition Services as a community engagement vehicle.

FIG operates as an independent, founder-led organization with roughly 9 to 10 staff, holds B Corporation certification, and reports no outside venture or private equity investment. Geographic reach is concentrated in four US states (California, North Carolina, New York, Virginia), and go-to-market is sales-led via direct engagement with institutional clients, supported by thought-leadership publications and a website "Work With Us" contact channel. The business model is a hybrid consulting/social enterprise in which mission-driven impact and fee-for-service contracts coexist.

Name

Food Insight Group

Legal name

Food Insight Group

Website

https://foodinsightgroup.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Food Insight Group is a Durham, North Carolina-based social enterprise founded in 2016 that provides research, evaluation, landscape analysis, and strategic narrative services to nonprofits, foundations, and state agencies working on food systems transformation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Systems Research and Evaluation Consulting

akta.pro primary industry

Food Systems & Value Chain Development for Nutrition (BPADAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Meal Program Compliance & Administration (NSLP/SBP, Reimbursements) (EDAEAEAC), Food Services Administration (Meal Eligibility, POS, Nutrition Compliance) (EDAJAHAJ), Food & Nutrition Assistance Programs (BPAIAKAF), Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH), Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

Keywords

• Food systems research
• Program evaluation services
• Nonprofit consulting
• Policy research
• Landscape analysis

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research and Evaluation Services: Food Insight Group generates revenue through consulting engagements with nonprofits, foundations, state agencies, and institutions seeking research, evaluation, and strategic planning services in the food systems domain. Projects include program evaluations, landscape analyses, data collection, and strategic narrative development.
2. Social Enterprise Model: FIG operates as a social enterprise dedicated to redesigning food systems, suggesting a hybrid model combining fee-for-service consulting with mission-driven impact. The company partners with various institutions to deliver actionable research and evaluation services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Food Insight Group is a social enterprise that provides research, evaluation, and storytelling services for food systems transformation. It conducts program evaluations, landscape analyses, targeted data collection (e.g., on job quality and food access), and strategic narrative development for nonprofits, foundations, state agencies, and other institutions. Its work centers on farm-to-school programs, school food workforce issues, Food is Medicine research, and SNAP-related nutrition security.

Product overview

Food Insight Group (FIG) is a social enterprise and research consultancy—not a software product company—that provides research, evaluation, and storytelling services to nonprofits, foundations, state agencies, and other institutions. Their offerings include Program Evaluation (combining qualitative and quantitative research methods to inform program design, implementation, and outcomes), Landscape Analysis & Recommendations (in-depth assessments of food systems to map key communities, policies, and resources), Data Collection (gathering essential data on indicators like job quality, food access, and public knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors), and Strategic Narrative Development (crafting evidence-based policy recommendations and compelling narratives). Their work focuses on food systems transformation, including farm-to-school programs, Food is Medicine initiatives, and SNAP nutrition security research. They do not offer packaged software products, platforms, or modules—only professional services and published research reports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Program Evaluation Combines qualitative and quantitative research methods to inform program design, implementation, and outcomes for food systems initiatives. Engagements include evaluations of statewide grant programs such as California's Farm to School Incubator Grant Program and Chef Ann Foundation's Healthy School Food Pathway.
• Landscape Analysis & Recommendations In-depth assessments of food systems that map key communities, policies, and resources, producing recommendations for foundations, agencies, and nonprofits shaping their strategies and investments.
• Data Collection Gathers essential data on indicators such as job quality, food access, and public knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, including statewide school nutrition services vacancy and turnover surveys and food security studies.
• Strategic Narrative Development Crafts evidence-based policy recommendations and compelling narratives that pair quantitative findings with stakeholder stories for community engagement and strategic planning.

Quantifiable outcome

• Evaluated California's nation-leading Farm to School Incubator Grant Program investment
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered featured, core and minor.

• Durham Public Schools' Child Nutrition ServicesfeaturedStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn partnership with Durham Public Schools' Child Nutrition Services, FIG created Durham Bowls, a local chef + school nutrition manager team competition where dishes were tested in real school kitchens under everyday conditions. The competition increased community engagement with school nutrition while supporting regional economy through increased local procurement.
• California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFIG co-leads the evaluation of California's Farm to School Incubator Grant Program, funded by the State of California. This is California's nation-leading investment in farm to school initiatives, with FIG providing comprehensive program evaluation services.
• Urban InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Urban Institute to explore economic challenges in the school food workforce, including wages, housing, and job competition. Co-authored research publication on wages, job quality, and housing affordability among California's school food service workforce.
• Chef Ann FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFIG conducts comprehensive evaluation of the Healthy School Food Pathway (HSFP) program administered by Chef Ann Foundation. Surveyed 118 districts across the United States participating in HSFP's Pre-Apprenticeship, Apprenticeship, and Fellowship programs.
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation for Food is Medicine research. FIG launched work in this field by conducting qualitative surveys and listening sessions across North Carolina in partnership with Seeds of Change Consulting.
• Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with CSPI to explore SNAP's role in community nutrition out of North Carolina, studying job quality, wages, and workforce conditions in school food services.
• Seeds of Change ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaShauna Austria, Founder of Seeds of Change Consulting, is a collaborator providing racial equity consulting with focus on food systems. SOC provides organizational and leadership development, research, evaluation, and facilitation services.
• Raindrop WorkshopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEva Ringstrom, MPA, MUP, leads Raindrop Workshop and collaborates with FIG on evaluation processes that support systemic change in food systems.
• Project ReflectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAngela McKee-Brown, Founder and CEO of Project Reflect (food systems design lab), is a collaborator who previously served as Executive Director with The Edible Schoolyard Project.
• SupplyChangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeather 'H' Nieto-Friga, founder of SupplyChange (social impact firm building resilient regional supply chains), collaborates on food systems work.
• Maya Systems DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLinden Thayer, PhD, leads Maya Systems Design and collaborates on food systems planning. She is also a co-founder of FIG.
• USDAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSDA partnership indicated through logo presence and collaborative work including evaluation of programs funded by USDA-FNS and the USDA's Rural Child Poverty Nutrition Center.
• UNC Gillings School of Global Public HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership indicated through logo presence. Team members hold degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill and collaborate on food systems research.
• University of California Agriculture & Natural ResourcesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUC ANR partnership indicated through logo and referenced in external coverage of farm-to-school programs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation: Broad-scope policy research institution with food, nutrition, and health portfolios; comparable to FIG in conducting evaluations and policy analyses for government and philanthropic clients, but at substantially larger scale.
• Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI): National nutrition and food policy advocacy organization; named FIG collaborator on SNAP and community nutrition research and a comparable mission-aligned actor in food systems evidence generation.
• Chef Ann Foundation: National nonprofit focused on healthy school food and the Healthy School Food Pathway program; a major FIG client (118-district evaluation) and a broader-incumbent operator/program owner in the same school food space.
• NORC at the University of Chicago: Independent research institution with a sizable public health and nutrition evaluation practice; competes with FIG for foundation and federal RFPs on school and community nutrition programs.

Direct peers

• Urban Institute: Major US social and economic policy research organization; directly comparable because Urban Institute is an existing FIG collaborator on the school food service workforce study and competes for the same foundation/federal evaluation RFPs.
• Mathematica Policy Research: Large evaluation and policy research consultancy with deep public-sector and foundation clients; comparable to FIG in delivering mixed-methods evaluations of federal nutrition, education, and food programs.
• Seeds of Change Consulting: Racial equity and food systems consultancy led by LaShauna Austria; a named FIG collaborator on Food is Medicine qualitative work, with comparable small-team, evaluation-and-strategy services to nonprofits and foundations.
• SupplyChange: Social impact firm building resilient regional food supply chains; a named FIG partner with overlapping food systems strategy and evaluation work for similar nonprofit and foundation clients.
• Upstream Works Collaborative: Food systems research and policy collaborative co-founded by Beth Katz (FIG's co-founder); extremely close peer in scope (food systems evaluation, equity, policy) and effectively shares leadership and mission orientation.
• Raindrop Workshop: Evaluation and systemic-change consultancy led by Eva Ringstrom; co-author on FIG's CA HSFP midpoint report and a recurring FIG collaborator on school food evaluation work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/food-insight-group

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Food Insight Group