Who We are.

On Common Ground (OCG) is a different kind of nonprofit organization, one focused on advocating market-aligned economic strategies to empower economically disadvantaged communities and families with the tools, education, and consistent access to healthy food needed to achieve a healthy lifestyle. OCGs three pillars are Education, Improving Community Infrastructure, and Reducing the Burden of Government by supporting federal and state community health objectives.

OCG founder Shannon Dobbs is a successful entrepreneur with decades of experience in retail small business strategies, as well as an Army veteran with a background in both food logistics and troubleshooting complex systemic challenges. When Shannon learned about the challenges faced by residents in Reno Nevada where he ran his businesses he decided to jump in and help the community to solve the access challenges, and he quickly understood that the standard design of grocery stores in the US are the main reason they cannot survive in low income communities. He responded by designing a business model for a new kind of grocery store focused on locally available and inexpensive dry pantry staples, that would provide a wide spectrum healthy food access for both downtown residents and anyone who rides a bus to work by locating the store near the public transport hub while keeping both the store footprint and cost of goods low enough to keep the food affordable.

While researching the challenges Shannon discovered another problem facing community residents. Many families live in converted motels and other environments that lack a functional kitchen, so even when they ARE able to access healthy foods many times they have no way to prepare it. This results in additional food waste when families receive donated food from area pantries they cannot use, and often results in the same challenges as lack of access to the food. Realizing how easy it would be for families to use portable plug-in cookware to get around these barriers led Shannon to develop an awareness and educational campaign centered around these devices, and to align with other nonprofits focused on stabilizing families including substance abuse recovery programs, post-prison reintegration, programs for single moms, and more. After two years working through a grant funded by USDAs SNAP-Education program OCG was able to dial in a successful modular educational system, but when COVID hit in 2020 the program was defunded due to state budget shortfalls and was forced to close. Then Shannon realized that it was possible to reach even more people by leveraging online sales and marketing platforms to share video Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and point people toward the equipment they needed online, as well as to use existing affiliate programs to partially fund OCGs charitable mission through sales commissions for a double win.

Much has changed since OCG was formed in 2016. Our focus has expanded beyond individual neighborhoods to encompass entire regional, national, and global food systems, and our understanding of the complex forces involved in food system access has evolved to improved awareness of the need for greater resiliency throughout our food system. COVID has taught all of us how vulnerable a global supply chain can be to disruption as well as the massive disruptive impact of food insecurity and poor nutrition on the health of everyone in our nation, and many are now waking up to the need for a more robust proactive response that tackles the root causes of food insecurity vs merely addressing the symptoms. We still have a long way to go, but with a workable plan in place it is only a matter of time and improvements in awareness and support to fix our broken food system and provide equitable access to healthy and delicious food for everyone, regardless their financial situation.