“Something New, Something Powerful”: Our Pittsburgh Local Lab Gathers to Dream Big

At the start of October, more than 50 food manufacturers and food system stakeholders from across the Pittsburgh region joined Mechanism’s Pittsburgh Local Lab (PLL) for a day-long convening and series of workshops.

They shared stories about their path to becoming passionate food entrepreneurs, and built solidarity around the possibilities for a stronger, more diverse, and more localized food ecosystem.

“We’re going to do something new, something powerful, and it’s going to happen now from this gathering,” said Lisa Freeman, a PLL working group member and founder of Freeman Family Farm Store .

The PLL was created to build on years of local work defining the regional food ecosystem’s challenges. Mechanism’s goal is to catalyze support for bridging ideas to action, by helping participants tap into their collective expertise and influence to pursue local solutions.

During the October 1 convening, groups of stakeholders were asked: If PLL participants were given an initial seed investment of $50,000, what would they do?

Generated through deep discussion, their ideas included:

• A community-funded pilot adaptation of USDA’s Regional Food Business Center program, which was shut down at the federal level in 2025
• Laying the groundwork for a cooperative staffing model by hiring one staff person who can coordinate bulk purchasing and shared services for food businesses
• A Union Hall-style workforce initiative supported by union dues that trains and places local workers, acting as an intermediary between local businesses and ready candidates

“We need to just keep building on [our connectedness] and bringing more people into the fold,” said Ben Buchanan, founder & CEO of Unified Fields. “Having organizations like [Mechanism] that bring us together to talk about these things and spark new ideas and create new connections, that just makes everything stronger.”

The highly praised event – participants gave it an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars in a Mechanism feedback survey – is just the start.

We’ll have more to share soon, but in the meantime, check out this great coverage of our October 1 gathering by Pittsburgh’s Public Source news outlet.

Learn more about our Pittsburgh Local Lab here.

Help Shape Our Future! Join Mechanism’s Board of Directors

Want to help guide the growth of a national organization that’s building new approaches to local economic resiliency? Apply to join Mechanism's Board of Directors!

Mechanism is seeking experienced professionals who can provide strategic guidance to our programs and elevate our fundraising power.

This is a great opportunity for leaders who want to help communities play an active role in strengthening local production and manufacturing, so that production meets locals' needs while helping their towns, cities, and regions become more capable of weathering challenges. (Read more about our national impact here!)

Ideal candidates will:

• Be a steward for strengthening and amplifying our reach
• Have active relationships with foundations, family offices, and impact investors
• Be passionate about our mission and work
• Have experience navigating institutional change

Applications and nominations should be submitted via the form below by Monday, November 30.

Apply or recommend someone here by November 30.

Welcoming Our Newest Board Member, Katya Fels Smyth

We’re thrilled to welcome Katya Fels Smyth to Mechanism’s Board of Directors!

Katya has a long history as a changemaker, but is perhaps best known for having recently led the Full Frame Initiative, a national organization that worked with organizations to create solutions for systemic challenges to well-being until ceasing its operations in 2025.

To learn more about Katya, we asked her a few questions about her social change work and her garlic farm. Read her responses below:

Could you share a bit about your professional background and the journey that brought you to social change work?

Katya Fels Smyth: After graduating from college, a series of events led me to work at and run a homeless shelter in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I worked with some women there to found a community for women moving through and recovering from homelessness called On The Rise. Realizing the need for systemic change rather than reactive programs, I launched the Full Frame Initiative (FFI). We grew into a national social change organization that partnered with government entities, communities, nonprofits, and others who shared our commitment to moving the U.S. towards a country where everyone has a fair shot. After winding down FFI, I focused on questions around disengagement and endings. I now lead The WellLeaving Project, which develops standards of care and accountability for how nonprofits leave communities and how funders transition out, working alongside my role as a senior fellow at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Why were you interested in joining Mechanism's board?

Smyth: I'd gotten to know the organization a bit in its previous incarnation [as the Urban Manufacturing Alliance] but I continue to feel like there's values alignment and also an approach to work that really meshes with how I see things – that is, being incredibly bold but not in a way that everything needs to be bigger. There were things that I thought I might be able to contribute, both as someone who has been on boards and led a nonprofit, relying on my movement building experience and my experience leading organizations going through big pivots.

Outside of your work with nonprofits, you run a garlic farm. Tell us a little about that!

Smyth: My husband and I live on a farm with animals, and he’s always had a green thumb. We started growing garlic in our garden, and it was so good, like you know the difference between a fresh August tomato and the Styrofoam kind at the grocery store? We gave some to friends, who loved it, and during the COVID-19 pandemic we grew more. About five years ago, while on sabbatical, I built a website to sell the extra garlic. It became a joyful outlet. Nobody had made garlic sampler boxes or a 24-variety advent calendar, so I did it. This year we’ll sell maybe 500 pounds across 40 varieties, and my goal is to go from a teeny-tiny farm to a merely small farm.

Mechanism’s Allied Organizations Win Awards at Shared Kitchen Summit

Mechanism’s Senior Program Manager Laura Masulis spent a whirlwind few days at the Shared Kitchen Summit in Providence, RI, from October 12 - 14, where she reconnected with old friends and met new ones involved in food entrepreneurship efforts across the country.

Laura participated in a panel alongside Hot Bread Kitchen and The Good Food CFO that dug into the financial realities of helping small food businesses grow. She shared insights from Mechanism’s Raising Dough learning series on creative funding strategies for food and beverage manufacturers.

She also celebrated with Mechanism’s allied organizations Catapult Pittsburgh and Hot Bread Kitchen, who took home two of the biggest “Golden Whisk” awards of the evening!

Many thanks to The Food Corridor and its partners for hosting such a great event. If you haven’t seen it yet, read our Raising Dough learning series takeaways at the link below.

Read our Raising Dough series takeaways here