Derrick Chubbs · President and CEO at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.
Photo by Roberto Gonzalez
By Derrick Chubbs, Second harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
In Summary:
Purpose-driven businesses can help nonprofits diversify revenue by offering products and services that align with their missions. At Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, Plate Above Catering generates income for hunger-relief programs through catering and prepared holiday meals. Derrick Chubbs encourages nonprofits to build on their strengths while recognizing that philanthropy and public investment remain essential.
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As more Central Florida families face difficult decisions about how to afford groceries, housing, and other essentials, the need for community-based services continues to grow. At the same time, nonprofits are navigating an increasingly uncertain funding environment, with government resources and other traditional revenue streams subject to change.
Related: Second Harvest calls on Central Florida to take action against hunger.
Meeting these challenges requires more than doing “more with less.” It requires nonprofits to rethink how they generate income, engage supporters, and sustain their work for the long term.
One opportunity is a purpose-driven business that generates revenue through activities that align with an organization’s purpose and creates additional value for the people it serves.
At Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, this approach provides another way to strengthen financial resilience and support hunger-relief efforts across the region.
Through Plate Above Catering, Second Harvest operates a catering business that serves individuals and organizations while generating revenue for the food bank’s charitable work. The model connects a practical service with a larger purpose, allowing customers to enjoy quality food while helping address hunger in Central Florida.
As the holiday season approaches, Plate Above Catering offers fully prepared holiday meals to go, giving supporters a convenient option for family gatherings and celebrations. Customers can order a complete meal or select individual items a la carte. Each order comes with reheating instructions, making it easier to serve a holiday meal without preparing everything from scratch. Businesses can also arrange catering for employee celebrations and corporate events. Proceeds help fund Second Harvest’s hunger-relief programs, giving customers another reason to feel good about where they order.
For other nonprofits considering a purpose driven business, the opportunity may already exist within their own operations. Organizations can evaluate their core competencies, resources and expertise to identify services or products that meet a community need while generating income. Building on existing strengths can create a complementary funding stream and help organizations maintain services when traditional sources of support fluctuate.
That said, a purpose driven business is not a substitute for philanthropy and public investment. Both remain essential in addressing food insecurity and other community needs. But earned revenue can diversify a nonprofit’s financial foundation, reducing its reliance on any single source and providing another avenue to sustain services.
Plate Above Catering demonstrates how nonprofits can put their expertise to work in new ways while advancing their missions. For customers, ordering a holiday meal or booking catering is a practical way to bring people together. For Second Harvest, those purchases help sustain the work getting nutritious food to neighbors experiencing hunger – ultimately turning a purchase into something more than just a transaction.
It can become another way to feed hope.
Key Points:
- Nonprofits face growing demand for services alongside uncertainty in traditional funding sources.
- Purpose-driven businesses can generate additional income while advancing an organization’s mission.
- Second Harvest’s Plate Above Catering supports hunger relief through catering services and prepared meals.
- Holiday customers can order complete meals or individual dishes, while businesses can arrange catering for celebrations.
- Earned revenue can complement donations and public investment, helping nonprofits reduce dependence on a single funding source.
For more information about supporting Second Harvest or finding food assistance, visit FeedHopeNow.org. To review Plate Above Catering’s menu, visit www.PlateAbove.com.
Derrick Chubbs is President and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida (SHFBCF). As the region’s largest emergency food provider, Second Harvest secures and distributes enough food for 300,000 meals a day to more than 800 local nonprofit feeding partners across a seven-county service area. By investing in job training programs and advocating for access to nutritious foods, SHFBCF is also addressing the root causes of hunger to help transform lives.
