Effective Community Outreach:  Vision, Surveys & Engagement

Wednesday 3/26, 1p eastern, 12p central, 11a mountain, 10a pacific

Effective Community Outreach:  Vision, Surveys & Engagement  with Karima Samadi, Columbus Public Health; Juliana Silveira, Neighborhood Design Center; Keryna Johnson, RISE Together Innovation Institute; Eric Hutchison

Building a food co-op that truly reflects and serves its community requires intentional engagement from the start. In this session, we'll share how the Bronzeville Food Co-op built a strong foundation for its development by crafting a vsision and values stateent that shaped outreach strategies, guilded a highly successful community survey with over 950 responses, and positioned their website as a cenral engagement tool. Through insights from key contributors to their process - including community leaders, design experts, and public health professionals - the session will explore practical steps for creating inclusive outreach, designing an effectiv survey, and leveraing digital tools to build early trust and enthusiasm. Whether you're about to launch your startup or you are refining your engagement strategies, you'll leae with actionable tools and inspiration to strengthen community connections and drive buy-in for your co-op. The session will include a panel discussion, real-world examples, and a Q&A to address your co-op's specific challenges.