Case Studies
Every project starts with a real problem and ends with something that changed — a story that ran, an issue that got attention, an audience that acted. Here's how a few of them played out, from the challenge to the result.
Closing the SNAP Gap
Washington City Paper
Challenge
D.C. residents receiving SNAP (food stamp) benefits were rarely redeeming them at local farmers markets, even in neighborhoods with limited access to fresh food — a policy gap with no clear public narrative around why it existed.
Strategy
Rather than lead with statistics, Hardin Hill proposed a ground-level, journalistic approach: report the story from inside the food desert itself, centering the people affected by the gap rather than the policy language describing it.
Execution
On-the-ground reporting and interviews with D.C. residents and market vendors, structured as a long-form investigative piece and pitched directly to Washington City Paper's food desk.
Result
PublishedPlaced as a feature in Washington City Paper, putting the SNAP redemption gap in front of the outlet's civic and policy-focused readership. [Add reach/shares/legislative follow-up here if available.]
The Mayor of Broccoli City
HuffPost
Challenge
Broccoli City, a D.C.-based festival and organization built around sustainability and Black community wellness, needed a way to introduce its founder and mission to a national audience beyond the festival itself.
Strategy
Hardin Hill built a personality-led profile pitch — telling the story through the founder as a character rather than the organization as a brand, aimed at outlets covering culture and community leadership.
Execution
A documentary-style profile combining interviews and on-site footage, edited into a narrative feature and placed directly with HuffPost.
Result
NationalSecured placement on a national platform, expanding Broccoli City's reach beyond its local D.C. base. [Add pageviews/social lift/festival attendance impact if available.]
Black Urban Growers
HuffPost
Challenge
Urban agriculture efforts led by Black farmers in D.C. food deserts were doing meaningful work with little press attention or public recognition of the food-access issue they were addressing.
Strategy
Hardin Hill pitched the story as a first-person farmer profile — letting a single grower's daily reality carry the broader food-desert narrative, rather than leading with policy framing.
Execution
On-site interviews and photography documenting a working urban farm, written and pitched as a feature to HuffPost.
Result
PublishedPlaced with HuffPost, raising the visibility of Black-led urban agriculture work in D.C. food deserts. [Add reach/community impact/funding follow-on if available.]
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