Sumac Community Food Centre Launch Campaign

The Challenge

When the Director of Communications at Right To Food reached out, she was facing the perfect storm: three major initiatives launching simultaneously—a complete organizational rebrand, an overhaul of their website, and the opening of their first directly operated community food centre. All within weeks of each other.

She was relatively new to the role and was still getting to know her team's capacity and individual strengths. With so much at stake, she needed someone who could deliver excellent work independently, without adding to her management load during an already intense period.

The Solution

I stepped in to lead the Sumac Community Food Centre launch campaign, bringing the strategic thinking and hands-on execution needed to move quickly without sacrificing quality. A critical piece of this work was establishing the brand architecture between Right To Food and Sumac—defining how the two brands would relate while giving Sumac the autonomy it needed to speak directly to its local community. Working with minimal direction, I developed campaign materials that maintained this strategic balance, ensuring consistency with Right To Food's new brand identity while positioning Sumac to communicate independently about its programs, events, and workshops.

The Outcome

The campaign launched on schedule with materials that authentically reflected both the community Sumac serves and its connection to Right To Food's national movement. The program team was pleased with how well the messaging captured their work and values.

Most importantly for the Director of Communications, the campaign was ready before the program team opened the doors—eliminating what had been her biggest concern: that communications would become a bottleneck holding back the launch. Instead, she gained breathing room to focus on the rebrand and website overhaul, knowing this critical launch was handled.

"The communications team at Right To Food was launching a new brand while managing multiple demands across the organization. Anne provided a steady hand to help execute. She's a quick study and great listener, which meant high-quality work without a lot of back-and-forth. She provided regular updates at a leadership level and kept projects moving even when internal responses were delayed. I highly recommend Anne—she has a diverse range of skills and will be a valuable asset."

-Ada Wong, Director of Communications at Right To Food

Why It Worked

This project succeeded because experienced capacity showed up at exactly the right moment. The Director of Communications didn't need to spend precious time onboarding, providing detailed direction, or managing quality—she needed someone who could understand the strategic context quickly and execute independently. By bringing both strategic thinking and tactical execution, I freed her to focus on the other critical initiatives competing for her attention, while ensuring this high-stakes launch had the communications foundation it needed.