"We're really working at that intersection of entrepreneurship and sustainable business," said Micah Elconin, MBA '12. "I work at an innovative economic development corporation and am building a program that supports food entrepreneurs, which in turn strengthens our local food system." Elconin was describing the synergies taking place at Sprout!—the regional food hub recently launched by Oregon nonprofit NEDCO—where he is the program's supervisor. Located in a former church in downtown Springfield, Oregon, Sprout! is currently home to Marketplace@Sprout!, a year-round indoor farmers' market. Later this month two additional components to this program will spring up: Kitchen@Sprout!, a shared-use commercial kitchen; and Hatch@Sprout!, a business incubator providing resources and consulting to food-related startups. The guiding vision behind all these projects is to use a burgeoning local food economy to help grow to a healthy community. For Elconin, who landed the job through connections rooted in his time in the Oregon MBA, his new role grafts together his business education and his earlier professional experience. "I came into the program with a background as a private chef, and I had my own small business," recalled Elconin. "I wasn't sure where the Oregon MBA would take me, but I feel like it took me somewhere really special."