FS6 & Portfolio NewsCheck out some of our favorite FS6 and portfolio highlights below. For real-time updates from the FS6 community, follow us on social media and sign up for our newsletter. |
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WEBINAR: Celebrating Indigenous Women Chefs
July 2021 | The Annual Conference on Native American Nutrition *Featuring FS6 Elder-in-Residence Loretta Barrett Oden The Annual Conference on Native American Nutrition is excited to announce "Celebrating Indigenous Women Chefs". This first of its kind webinar series highlights the culinary expertise of Indigenous women through six LIVE cooking demonstrations. Join us each month as the featured guest chefs share their skills, knowledge, wisdom, and recipes. |
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ARTICLE: Enhancing California’s Specialty Crops
March 2021 | Mirage *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Center for Good Food Purchasing The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program has awarded $450,000 to researchers in the UC Davis Center for Precision Medicine and Data Sciences (CPMDS) and several institutional partners to enhance the competitiveness of California specialty crops (i.e. fruits, vegetables, tree nuts and dried fruit). The two-and-a-half-year project will be led by Frederick J. Meyers, director of CPMDS and a professor of internal medicine, and Ronit Ridberg, manager of the center’s Precision Nutrition Program. The initiative will expand opportunities to partner UC Davis Health with small and mid-scale growers who focus on these crops. |
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ARTICLE: Food Justice in the Hudson Valley: A Recent History
March 2021 | Robert Raymond *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Center for Good Food Purchasing If you were to follow an apple from the farm worker who harvested it in the Hudson Valley all the way down to the dishwasher scraping apple crisp leftovers off a plate in a restaurant kitchen 100 miles south in New York City, the path you’d trace would be defined by long hours, low wages, and unsafe working conditions. There are many reasons why the US food industry relies on exploited workers—and when it comes to farm workers specifically, exploitation is a tradition that goes back all the way to the country’s origins. “If you talk about the labor injustices in the Hudson Valley or the food system in general, part of it is from the historic situation that we’re in,” says farmer, activist, and writer Elizabeth Henderson. “The greater part of the food system is based in the system of slavery, where there were massive plantations worked by people who were enslaved and had no choice.” |
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WEBINAR: Business Entity Formation & Impact
March 2021 | FS6 The question of business entity formation is one that we answer repeatedly at FS6, particularly as impact-driven businesses begin to think about taking on professional investment. Does it matter where and how you are incorporated? Do you need to be a Delaware C-Corp? How can you make sure that impact stays central to your business as you grow? What are the options for cooperative or employee-owned business structures? All of these questions (and more) will be addressed in this conversation from a variety of perspectives; each speaker will tell you the pros and cons of various entity types from their experience and will engage around the increasingly pertinent question of how to build impact, resiliency, community, and success into the foundation of your business. |
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NEWS: A Roadmap for the Post-Pandemic Food System We Need
February 2021 | Center for Good Food Purchasing *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Center for Good Food Purchasing While the path to Good Food should be flexible and adaptable to local needs and resources, there are a few key pillars to ensuring effective food system transformation. These pillars are drawn from communities involved in the national expansion of the Good Food Purchasing Program and their experiences addressing the many challenges brought upon by the Covid-19 pandemic in the spring and fall of 2020. |
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WEBINAR: People First: Myths and Realities of Social Compliance
February 2021 | Brooke Park *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Equitable Food Initiative This event will feature Karla Cook, certification manager for EFI, and Amalia Zimmerman-Lommel, director of social responsibility and human resources for Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce/Good Farms. Cook, who also manages the EFI Standards Committee, and Zimmerman-Lommel, who helped Andrew & Williamson/Good Farms accomplish certification at all internal farms in Mexico and two in the U.S., will speak about:
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NEWS: Ag monitoring startup FluroSat merges with soil carbon expert Dagan to form Regrow
February 2021 | Jonathan Shieber *Featuring FS6 portfolio company FluroSat FluroSat and Dagan, two startups that both are tackling the monitoring and management of agricultural inputs and outputs for a better understanding of the role sustainable agriculture can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, have merged and are launching a package of services under a new brand, Regrow. The merge, announced yesterday, will create a company that combines FluroSat’s data-driven agriculture management services with Dagan’s soil biogeochemical modeling technology, the companies said in a joint statement. |
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PODCAST: EATING MATTERS- EPISODE 174 MATRIARK FOODS
February 2021 | Heritage Radio Network *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Matriark Food The US is a global leader of food waste, generating about 40 MILLION tons annually, which represents between 30 - 40% of the food supply. Within this waste stream are 10 million tons of perfectly usable vegetables that don’t make it to market. Recognizing the critical role this produce could play in tackling the dual challenges of food waste and limited availability of nutritious food for millions of Americans, Anna Hammond founded Matriark Foods, a startup that upcycles vegetable byproducts into healthy products for the benefit of people and the planet. Host Jenna Liut speaks with Anna about how she got her start and the impact the company is making as a solution for major inefficiencies in the food supply chain. |
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ARTICLE: The Bakery That’s Owned by an Idea
February 2021 | Oscar Perry Abello *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Firebrand Artisan Breads It’s really hard to bake in a wood-fired brick oven, says Matt Kreutz, who has been working in bakeries since 1996, at age 14, and first baked in a wood-fired brick oven at age 17. “You have to monitor it all the time. It’s a pain in the ass, it’s dirty, it’s really challenging to control, challenging to work with,” Kreutz says. “But the amount of thermal mass you can bring to bear to baking, it means you can manipulate the dough in different ways. It just allows you to get a level of caramelization you’re not going to get with a regular gas oven. You get unique characteristics for sure.” |
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PODCAST: COVID-19 & School Lunch (Part 2)
February 2021 | Food Issues *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Chef Ann Foundation In 2020, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in the U.S. went through a ton of changes, some of which were because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools and food service directors faced significant financial challenges, were forced to change the foods on the menu and how they distributed meals to kids. In episode 2, we took a deep dive into these issues with Colin Schwartz from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. In this episode, I spoke with Brandy Dreibelbis, director of school food operations at the Chef Ann Foundation, about what schools and food service directors have to had to contend with through COVID-19 and the 2020-21 school year. We also talked about universal school meals and what we can expect from the Biden Administration. |
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ARTICLE: Growing consumer interest driving social responsibility movement
February 2021 | Ashley Nickle *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Equitable Food Initiative How does a company go from generally caring about its employees and endeavoring to treat them well to having a defined structure and accountability around those aims? Often, that shift happens in response to requests from customers, said Hugo Hays, global director of compliance and food safety for international banana behemoth Fyffes. As retailers see consumer interest in social responsibility grow, they ask for documentation and verification of supplier efforts in that area. That demand has led to the rise of certifications like those available from Equitable Food Initiative, Fairtrade International, Fair Trade USA, GLOBALG.A.P., Sedex and others. A supplier with a diverse customer base, then, may need to get certified with multiple organizations. This is more the case in the U.S. than in Europe, Hays said. He noted that this divergence is related to the difficulty in getting U.S. retailers together to discuss what elements might be included in a common social responsibility framework; anti-trust regulations pose a hurdle for companies to gather to discuss even “pre-competitive” issues, Hays said. |
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NEWS: SOLUBLUE SECURES TOP PRIZE OF €500,000 FROM THE POSTCODE LOTTERIES GREEN CHALLENGE
February 2021 | Barney Cotton *Featuring FS6 portfolio company SoluBlue The Cambridge-based start-up beat over 650 start-ups from across Europe to be crowned the latest winner and will now use the prize money to scale up its technology for pilot production among retailers. SoluBlue wowed the Jury by revealing its potential to revolutionise the way we store food to eliminate plastic and food waste. Its innovative packaging stops food from rotting by absorbing excess moisture so that packaged food gradually dries instead, meaning many everyday foods stay fresh for more than 50% longer. Food types, including cheese and fruit, were even found to stay fresh and safe for consumption after two years in SoluBlue’s packaging. The seaweed-based packaging is also 100% natural and non-toxic. It will completely biodegrade in a normal household compost bin within just eight-weeks, as opposed to many plastic alternatives that need commercial composting facilities. SoluBlue’s packaging also has the same look and feel as conventional plastic, so consumers and companies can reduce their plastic use without having to compromise on the look and feel of their packaging. |
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NEWS: EFI develops vaccine FAQ for farmworkers
February 2021 | Tom Karst *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Equitable Food Initiative The Equitable Food Initiative has a web page with resources that growers/shippers can use to educate farm workers on the coronavirus vaccine. The information, available in Spanish and English, is presented in three formats for easy sharing (cards that can be distributed directly to workers, posters for common areas and a shareable social media graphic that easily appears on smartphones), according to the company. The resources were developed by EFI trained Leadership Teams at certified farms, according to the company, and were designed to answer the most pressing questions around COVID-19 and the vaccine. |
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NEWS: Podcast brings scientists and entrepreneurs together
February 2021 | Mirage *Featuring FS6 portfolio company FluroSat In a new series of their podcast Lab Notes, University of Wollongong scientist Professor Marc in het Panhuis and entrepreneur Dr Leo Stevens aim to demystify the business world for scientists and the academic world for business people. Lab Notes celebrates Australian science, innovation and entrepreneurship, and aims to inspire inventive Australians. In the first series, the co-hosts interviewed Australian research luminaries including 2005 Australian of the Year Professor Fiona Wood and 2017 NSW Scientist of the Year Professor Gordon Wallace, as well as up and coming entrepreneurs like Anastasia Volkova (FluroSat). |
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NEWS: 15 Leading Women at the Intersection of Food and Technology
February 2021 | Food Tank *Featuring FS6 portfolio company MilkRun Julia Niiro founded MilkRun with a vision for a more streamlined and localized supply chain. Following the milkman model, shoppers can build their weekly grocery cart online, producers will drop-off their supply at a local micro-hub, and orders are delivered straight to the buyer’s home. The online marketplace provides small farmers with an average return of 70 percent the purchase price, compared to a 8 percent return when selling via grocery stores. Today, hundreds of farmers are directly connected to thousands of consumers in Portland and Seattle. |
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NEWS: The Next 1000- Julia Niiro
February 2021 | Forbes *Featuring FS6 portfolio company, MilkRun A trip to the grocery store is suddenly a daunting task. At the same, local sourcing is now a top priority for many home cooks. Enter MilkRun, a marketplace founded by Niiro, 34, that allows users to buy produce, dairy and meats directly from over 100 small and mid-sized farmers. Last year she expanded beyond Portland, OR, to Seattle and Austin, and revenue spiked 15x. Shifting farmers to ecommerce is our generation's issue to solve, says Niiro. |
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PODCAST: 3 Sustainable Alternatives to Single-use Plastic, EPS Foam, Paper Packaging
February 2021 | Elizabeth Crawford *Featuring FS6 portfolio companies SoluBlue, Nafici Environmental Research, and Rhizoform Consumer and regulatory pressure is mounting once again for the CPG industry to cut back on the use of single-use plastics, Styrofoam, and other non-recyclable packaging despite a temporary reprieve during the pandemic when safety and hygiene fears outweighed environmental concerns. |
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WEBINAR: Financial Hygiene for Investment Preparedness
February 2021 | FS6 The start of the new year is a great time to step back for a little business hygiene - to make sure you are prepared for the hurdles of the upcoming year and, for those of you planning on fundraising in 2021, to confirm that you’ve got the foundational elements of your business in tip-top shape. Join FS6 co-founder, Peter Herz and career CFO, David Guendelman as they share the templates, tools, and technologies that have buoyed them to success. |
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WEBINAR: Mental Health and Entrepreneurship
February 2021 | FS6 This episode of the Startup Refresh series will focus on a topic that we too often think of last in our busy lives - self-care. At FS6, we strongly believe that the most successful entrepreneurs are those who are able to prioritize long term health and wellbeing, alongside the more traditional markers of success. Today we will be bringing together three perspectives to back us up: a clinical psychologist, an executive coach, and a startup founder. Each of them will share with you the tips and tricks they have learned over the years to build a business with longevity, sustainability, and joy. |
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ARTICLE: Broadband Expansion Benefits a More Resilient Food System
February 2021 | Food Tank *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Farm Generations Cooperative During a virtual panel on broadband expansion organized by Food Tank and the Refresh Working Group, experts argue that internet connectivity is crucial to building more resilient communities and food systems. Moderated by Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg, and journalist Chloe Sorvino of Forbes, the event is part of a weeklong series about the intersection of food and technology. Panelists include Michelle Miller, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at UW-Madison; Leanna Mulvihill, PM – Customer Engagement for Farm Generations Coop; and Kim Olson, retired Colonel for the U.S. Air Force and Democratic nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner in 2018; and Ankita Raturi Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University. |
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ARTICLE: How Matriark Makes Nourishing Food Products From Would-be-Waste at Scale
January 2021 | Arlene Karidis *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Matriark Foods Eighty billion pounds of good food is tossed in the U.S. each year, including 20 million tons of produce that never leaves the farms, simply because it is not pretty enough for grocery store shelves or restaurants’ dishes. Or it’s wasted because it does not fit well in standard-size packages. So, most of it moves on to landfills to rot. That’s a snapshot of the food waste story from a high-level. But Anna Hammond, CEO and founder of Matriark, has gotten a down-in-the-trenches, pretty intricate look at what is happening, at least in the Eastern United States where she works to address problems around both food waste and food access. Hammond has grown a robust network of partners along the food supply chain, who turn would-be waste streams into revenue while providing good nourishment, and at scale. Matriark salvages and makes product from 1.2 million pounds of surplus or trimmings a year that are sold to schools, hospitals, and other institutions with cafeterias. |
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ARTICLE: Growing Solutions Out of Food Waste
January 2021 | Musings Magazine *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Matriark Foods Anna Hammond believes food waste (among the largest contributors to greenhouse gases) is the most solvable challenge when it comes to human and planetary health. Her background in building community food programs has given her a keen awareness of the lack of access to healthy food in low income areas. She paired the shortage of healthy produce with the problems leading to excess food waste and launched Matriark Foods. Its name is derived from “matriarchs,” the generations of women who lived through wars and learned to make “morsels into meals;” and “ark,” a representation of protection and safety amid environmental catastrophe. Their first product on the market is an upcycled vegetable broth concentrate made from remnants of vegetables that would otherwise end up in a landfill. It’s available for purchase on US Foods (for food services), Hungry Harvest and Imperfect. They also have two other products in development—a beet umami puree and carrot umami puree—scheduled to be released later this year. |
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PODCAST: Why Food? Claire Schlemme & Caroline Cotto: Renewal Mill
January 2021 | Heritage Radio Network *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Renewal Mill Join us for a conversation with Claire Schlemme and Caroline Cotto, Cofounders of Renewal Mill. Committed to finding solutions at the intersection of food, sustainability, and accessible nutrition, Renewal Mill is an award-winning startup creating a new circular economy of food by upcycling the byproducts of food manufacturing into premium ingredients & plant-based products. Their signature product is okara flour, made from the byproducts of tofu and soy milk manufacturing. |
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ARTICLE: 10 Foods and Drinks You’ll See Everywhere in 2021
January 2021 | Food Network Magazine *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Renewal Mill One of the things we love most about the beginning of a brand-new year is all the delicious and unexpected food and drink trends that come along with it. From big, diner-style breakfasts to candy-covered gazing boards, 2021 is sure to be filled with fun finds absolutely everyone can get behind. As part of their newest issue, Food Network Magazine searched high and low for all the newest foods and drinks you’re sure to see everywhere in the upcoming months, and boy, oh boy, are we excited! Keep reading to see Food Network Magazine’s Hot List for 2021 and to discover what flavor their editors dubbed “Flavor of the Year.” |
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ARTICLE: The End of the Golden Age of Silicon Valley Cafeterias
January 2021 | Priay Anand *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Fare Resources Tech’s hiring spree made it hard for restaurants to hold on to top talent, says Gabriel Cole, who ran Airbnb Inc.’s global food program before co-founding Fare Resources, which designs corporate dining programs. “It also created some better quality of living for a lot of cooks, which is the upside,” he says. “I did it because I wanted a 9 to 5, I wanted benefits, and I wanted a better quality of life.” In the early days of the pandemic, many companies pledged to keep paying their cafeteria workers, but the tech industry is now embracing remote work as a more permanent phenomenon. Cafeterias probably won’t disappear entirely, but they’ll likely need fewer people on staff and might not serve up three meals a day plus constant snacks. |
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ARTICLE: NAFICI Makes Packaging Materials From Agriculture Waste
January 2021 | Arlene Karidis *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Nafici Environmental Research The demand for packaging has been steadily climbing for years. Growing alongside it is the food supply—and alongside the food surge is a spike in byproducts from agriculture. NAFICI Environmental Research connected the dots between these three growth trends and came up with a business plan around all of them. Ultimately the young company, based near London, is capitalizing on the need for packaging materials while working to save a lot of trees that would otherwise have served as feedstock. And at the same time, it’s making use of that glut of crop byproduct. |
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WEBINAR: How to Navigate USDA Funding for your Food & Farm Business
December 2020 | USDA + FS6 Join Food System 6 and a group of representatives from the USDA for a roundtable discussion about the many opportunities available for funding your food and farm business through the USDA farmer and producer programs. This discussion will focus on highlighting the resources available for regional and sustainable food systems. The goal of this webinar is to provide clarity around the many opportunities and the pathways to funding available through the USDA, and to highlight the next steps for any entrepreneur looking to seek USDA funding. |
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NEWS: 121 Food Organizations to Watch in 2021
December 2020 | Amanda Fong, Allison Reser, and Jill Matteson *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Center for Good Food Purchasing 2020 has been an unprecedented and chaotic year. We have all been forced to pivot, adapt, and do things differently. The same holds true for our food systems. The COVID-19 global pandemic highlights how vulnerable, inefficient, and unjust our food systems currently are—but we also know that they don’t have to be that way. There are opportunities to rebuild and strengthen our food systems to be resilient, equitable, healthy, and regenerative as well as accessible and affordable for all. |
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ARTICLE: Home For The Holidays With A Few Of Our Favorite Things!
December 2020 | Austin, TX *Featuring FS6 portfolio company MilkRun If you’re busy with the holiday season or just don’t want to leave the house, let someone else do the grocery gathering and enjoy local, seasonal goods! MilkRun is an online local food marketplace and food delivery service sourcing directly from small-scale farmers in your community. They offer curated weekly subscription boxes of pasture-raised meats, wild-caught fish, and seasonal fruit and vegetables, with customizable add-ons including locally baked bread, grass-fed dairy, and pastured eggs. |
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ARTICLE: Ingredion releases quinoa flour targeting superfood applications
December 2020 | Food Ingredients 1st *Featuring FS6 portfolio company, Renewal Mill Ingredion has built up its range of plant-based proteins with Homecraft Quinoa 112 flour. The new flour is being introduced in the US and Canada, with other regions to follow. Homecraft Quinoa 112 flour is milled from a proprietary waxy variety of the golden quinoa seed and is backed by sustainable production. |
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ARTICLE: Investing in the Future of Food: Matriark’s ‘nimble’ processing pilot upcycles food fast, offers potential production path for scaling companies
November 2020 | Elizabeth Crawford *Featuring FS6 portfolio company, Matriark Foods Limited access to processing facilities is a top contributor to food waste, and a major hurdle that blocks mid-sized food and beverage businesses from scaling to the next level – two challenges that startup Matriark Foods is hoping to bypass with a unique business model that combines upcycling with a nimble processing option that works directly with institutions. |
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PODCAST: Mark Keller from Keller Crafted Meats on The Co-Op Scoop
November 2020 | Sacramento, CA *Featuring FS6 portfolio company Keller Crafted Meats The Co-op Scoop is an audio podcast that features interviews with farmers, food artisans, co-op movers and shakers, and even some bakers! Every week we intend to bring to you a large scoop of food knowledge highlighting one of the most bountiful food regions in all the land. |
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ARTICLE: Investing in the Future of Food: Could co-ops hold a key to dismantling systemic racism in food system?
November 2020 | Elizabeth Crawford *Featuring FS6 portfolio company, CoFED As America continues to struggle with the fallout from widespread, prolonged systemic racism, including its impact on the food system, intentionally designed co-ops could provide a path forward for traditionally disenfranchised groups to improve access to healthy nutrition, wealth, and empowering life and leadership skills, according to one startup. |
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NEWS: US School Food Leaders Form Collective to Accelerate Scratch Cooking
October 2020 | Boulder, CO *Featuring FS6 portfolio company, Chef Ann Foundation ScratchWorks is a trade-driven collective of school food professionals and nonprofit organizations committed to supporting school districts in cooking meals from scratch using whole, fresh ingredients, providing students with the nutrition they need for their educational success, health, and wellbeing. ScratchWorks began in the spring of 2019 with a commitment from six food service directors and six supporting organizations to envision a new possibility: to design a collective vision for the future of nutritious school meals. "We need this now more than ever. I have worked in school food for many years and have long envisioned an effort like ScratchWorks to support my peers," said Bertrand Weber, Director of Culinary & Wellness Services for Minneapolis Public Schools in Minnesota. "The pandemic has made it more difficult for school food teams to serve scratch-cooked meals, but we stay focused on that as our goal. We have to commit ourselves to do what is possible now and make sure we continue to move forward when we return to a traditional school meal schedule." |
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NEWS: Plug and Play holds inaugural startup program for ag tech, animal health
October 2020 | Jordan Tyler *Featuring FS6 portfolio company, Andes Ag Following partnerships with Cargill and Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Plug and Play held its inaugural pitch competition event for industry startups through its new Topeka innovation center. Ten early-stage companies from across the United States, Australia, Spain, the United Kingdom and Sweden were selected to participate in the pitch competition. Bond Pet Foods, Inc., a biotechnology company developing lab-cultured, meatless pet food proteins, was one of them. “As the animal health, ag tech and bioscience industries come together, it is the ideal time to create this incredible innovation platform in Topeka,” said Saeed Amidi, chief executive officer and founder of Plug and Play. “With our wide grasp of technologies and solutions across different industries, we are very excited to explore and foster the animal health and ag tech ecosystem here in Topeka.” |
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PODCAST: FoodCrunch Episode 18 - Emma Weston, AgriDigital
October 2020 | Katrina Stanislaw *Featuring FS6 portfolio company AgriDigital Originally a city girl, a lawyer by training, now a proud farmer, Emma Weston CEO and Co-Founder of AgriDigital, is the consummate entrepreneur. She co-founded AgriDigital to use technology to ensure greater transparency and profitability across grain supply chains. We’re talking about the winners --and losers--from a shift to shorter and transparent supply chains. |
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PRESS RELEASE: Food System 6 and Huhtamaki Announce Circular Economy Start-Up Program Participants
October 2020 | San Francisco The impact-focused startup accelerator, Food System 6 (FS6), is today announcing the eight early-stage companies from around the world selected to participate in their new Circular Economy program, launched in partnership with global sustainable packaging solutions leader Huhtamaki. The purpose of the Huhtamaki Circular Economy Start-up Program by Food System 6 is to accelerate the development of young and promising companies working to deliver innovative sustainable solutions in areas such as waste management, sustainable packaging alternatives, new materials innovation, and regenerative production models. |
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EVENT: Innovation for Food Systems Impact
September 2020 | Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum We just wrapped up our annual pitch event at the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum, where the FS6 virtual pitch event, "Innovation for Food Systems Impact," kicked-off a week of learning and sharing about investing in the food system. Watch the full event recording here and learn more about the event and the presenting entrepreneurs on our C5 Forum page. |
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ARTICLE: This catering company has donated 38,000 meals that would have fed paying tech clients
September 2020 | Alix Wall *Featuring FS6 portfolio company, Fare Resources Prior to COVID-19, Fare Resources, a food consulting and catering company in Emeryville, earned most of its revenue from feeding tech clients. It created 1,500 meals a day for a few offices across the Bay Area. These days, Fare Resources is still making 1,500 meals a day, but now its clientele is completely different. Since May 18, it’s become Fare Community Kitchen, a fiscally sponsored project of San Francisco-based cooking non-profit 18 Reasons, working to feed food-insecure communities. “When we lost all of our office clients, we wanted to find a way to keep things going,” said Nina Mendez, the director. “We knew there would be a need for food assistance, and the goal became not so much to keep us open, but to make sure food goes to people who need it most.” |
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PODCAST: PMA Takes on Tech, Episode 5: Solving for the Sixth Food System
August 2020 | Vonnie Estes *Featuring FS6 CEO Ceasaré Assad, EIR Ethan Rublee, and portfolio company Farm Generations Cooperative The history of the world’s food systems has had major shifts - from hunting, gathering, fishing, and foraging through the current industrial food system. The 5th and current food system has exhausted its growth trajectory and the world is, once again, staged for a major transformation in the way that food is grown, distributed and produced. There is a movement away from an industrialized, monoculture system built to provide calories and yield to one based on healthy people and sustainable, equitable ecosystems. In the produce industry we are all about nutrient-dense fresh food for healthy people and a healthy planet. In this episode, we talk to Caesare Assad, CEO of Food System 6 a nonprofit accelerator whose mission is to support impact driven entrepreneurs as they transform how we grow, produce, and distribute food. We also talk to two companies involved with FS6: Ethan Rublee, a brilliant roboticist turning his passion and experience from computer vision startups and google to the farm and Lindsey Lusher Shute on supporting smaller acre producers for a more equitable food system. |
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AWARD: Announcing our Top 20 Emerging Leaders in Food & Ag of 2020
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ANNOUNCEMENT: AeroFarms Helps Reduce Food Waste with New Partnership with Table to Table and Matriark Foods Through New FarmPlus to People Program, funded by ReFED COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund
August 2020 | AeroFarms *Featuring FS6 portfolio company, Matriark Foods Matriark Foods and Table to Table were awarded a $50,000 grant from ReFED COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund to pilot a processing program that pays farmers, creates jobs, diverts vegetables from landfill, feeds the hungry, and proves out the metrics for nimble processing infrastructure. The goal is to deliver 500,000+ meals and offset 1,000,000+ pounds of greenhouse gases over the next 90 days. With its global headquarter and farms in Newark NJ, AeroFarms is excited to be able to provide delicious, healthy stems and greens from a second-harvest that normally would be left in the traditional field. AeroFarms pioneering indoor vertical farming allows access to the entire root to leaf to create upcycled products that are breaking through for their culinary flavor and nutrition. |
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ARTICLE: 15 Inspiring Quotes and Questions to Guide the Food System Forward
July 2020 | Food Tank *Featuring FS6 CEO Caesaré Assad “We have this really beautiful rich, diverse country where we can produce and we can create so much wealth for all of us, and it’s now about zooming in and resourcing these gaps that we know exist.” |
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ARTICLE: Saving the planet one brownie at a time
July 2020 | Gwenn Friss *Featuring FS6 portfolio company, Renewal Mill The average person would probably not associate eating a dark chocolate brownie with doing something to prevent climate change. But Barnstable native Caroline Cotto has a story that connects the two with a short, straight line. Reducing food waste and eating a plant-based diet are the number one things we can do to reduce greenhouse gases that contribute to rising temperatures, Cotto said, quoting the climate change site Drawdown.org. "If food waste were a country, it would be the third highest producer of greenhouse gases behind China and the U.S." This is where the brownies come in. Cotto and her business partner, Claire Schlemme, founded Renewal Mill to turn byproducts of soy milk production into a high-protein, high-fiber flour that Renewal Mill sells for baking and in baking mixes like the one for dark chocolate brownies. |
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PODCAST: Didier Toubia on Cultivated Meat and Paula Daniels on Good Food Purchasing Policies
July 2020 | Dani Nierenberg *Featuring FS6 portfolio company, Center for Good Food Purchasing Today on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg,” Dani interviews Didier Toubia, Co-Founder and CEO of Aleph Farms. Then she talks with Paula Daniels, Co-Founder, Chair of the Board, and Chief of What’s Next at the Center for Good Food Purchasing Dani and Didier discuss how the present and future of cultivated meats and how Aleph Farms is driving that movement. They also talk about why cultivated meats may be the way of the future and how they benefit human health, animal welfare, and the environment. Then, Dani and Paula discuss how the Center for Good Food Purchasing is supporting sustainable food purchasing at institutions, especially public schools, across the United States. They talk about how food purchasing by large institutions influences the entire food chain and how institutional policy changes can benefit entire communities. |
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ARTICLE: Portland Startup Revives the Milkman Model for Farm-Fresh Produce
July 2020 | Hannah Wallace *Featuring FS6 company, MilkRun When Julia Niiro founded MilkRun in Portland, Ore., in 2018, she wanted to combat two enduring challenges to local food systems: inefficient distribution and low farmer pay. Addressing these issues was necessary for smaller producers to disrupt an industry that’s “really, really good at processing cheap food and selling uniform waxed apples at the same place we go to buy our toilet paper,” as she put it in an impassioned 2019 TEDx Talk. But it’s much less successful at delivering the sustainably raised, flavorful food grown on nearby farms. |
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ARTICLE: Want to See Food and Land Justice for Black Americans? Support These Groups.
June 2020 | The Civil Eats Editors *Featuring FS6 portfolio company CoFED Food justice is racial justice. Food and agriculture, like everything in this country, are deeply intertwined with our nation’s entrenched history of slavery and structural racism. Our food system actively silences, marginalizes, and disproportionately impacts people of color, who are also being hardest hit by COVID-19. As Americans rise up to respond to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others, and to the ongoing violence, suppression, and brutality facing the Black community, we hope this list of organizations working to strengthen food justice, land access, and food access in the Black community will inform, inspire, and energize you to show up for racial justice. |
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PODCAST: Lab Notes 012 - GROWING SENSATION - Dr. Anastasia Volkova
June 2020 | Leo Stevens *Featuring FS6 portfolio company FluroSat If growth is a science, Dr. Anastasia Volkova has cracked the formula. For the last five years her company Flurosat has been developing sensing tools and analytics that help farmers optimise crop production, and Anastasia's approach has won her influential supporters including Main Sequence Ventures, Cicada Innovations and Microsoft's M12 fund. Now with offices across Australia, Europe and the USA, Flurosat is expanding globally, and making its technology an indispensable part of modern agriculture. Tune in to hear how science, engineering and agriculture have come together for this Ukrainian-born entrepreneur who never let herself be constrained by boundaries. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Homegrown Organic Farms Earns First Equitable Food Initiative Certification for Stonefruit
June 2020 | Lillian Diep *Featuring FS6 portfolio company, Equitable Food Initiative With the help of the expertise of Equitable Food Initiative (EFI), Homegrown Organic Farms has now completed its EFI certification for its California-grown organic stonefruit. Among other highlights, this certification demonstrates the grower’s dedication to improving the lives of its employees. The EFI-labeled product began to ship to Costco Wholesale and Whole Foods Market as of yesterday. “We are proud to be first in offering an EFI-certified stonefruit program to the consumer,” stated Scott Mabs, Chief Executive Officer of Homegrown Organic Farms. “Our team members from the field to shipment are professionals in their jobs, and EFI brings the system to help facilitate cross-department collaboration and personal development. It is quite a unique program that is on the forefront of systems improvement for the farm supply chain. Homegrown has always been about the development and value of our team members and EFI is a wonderful support to that mission.” |
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PRESS RELEASE: New Start-up Program Launched to Support Entrepreneurs Building Circular Economy
June 2020 | San Francisco, CA We’re excited to announce our new Circular Economy Startup Program sponsored by Huhtamaki, aimed at supporting the most innovative circular economy startups worldwide. If you or your company are pushing for sustainable and regenerative solutions to our food system crisis, we want to hear from you. Applications are open – apply by August 15. Take a look at the program launch on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. |
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PRESS RELEASE: New Start-up Program Launched to Support Entrepreneurs Building Circular Economy
June 2020 | Huhtamaki Today, the U.S.-based nonprofit Food System 6 (FS6) announces the launch of a comprehensive startup program in partnership with global sustainable food packaging leader Huhtamaki. The Huhtamaki Circular Economy Startup Program by Food System 6 is designed to accelerate the development of young and promising companies working for a more sustainable future. It will focus on identifying and developing early-stage companies with innovative and promising sustainable solutions in areas such as waste diversion, sustainable packaging alternatives, new materials innovations, and regenerative production models. |
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NEWS: Circular Economy Start-up Seeks Promising Future
June 2020 | Plastics in Packaging US-based non-profit Food System 6 (FS6) has launched a start-up programme in partnership with packaging converter Huhtamaki, which seeks to accelerate the development of young and promising companies working for a more sustainable future. The Huhtamaki Circular Economy Startup Program by FS6 will focus on identifying and developing early-stage companies with promising sustainable solutions in areas such as waste diversion, sustainable packaging alternatives, new materials innovations, and regenerative production models. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: New Regen Ag-Focused Fund Soilworks Makes Its Debut with PastureMap Acquisition
June 2020 | Laurent Stine *Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, PastureMap There’s a new fund in town with an eye towards accelerating regenerative agriculture. “While our history is in software, we see a change coming to food that mirrors the cloud computing revolution in technology,” said Ed Byrne, co-founder of Soilworks, in a statement announcing the new fund. “Regenerative practices are proven but not yet widely adopted. They rely on a deeper understanding of nature, food quality and health. We see it as one of the most important trends of the coming decades.” |
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NEWS: Feeding Frenzy: Berkeley Law Programs Help Launch New Foodtech Startups
June 2020 | Andrew Cohen *Featuring Food System 6 Founder, Renske Lynde COVID-19 has ravaged the economy and exposed trouble spots in our food distribution, including a vulnerable supply chain for animal meat. In doing so, the pandemic has elevated the profile—and promise—of the budding foodtech industry. UC Berkeley is a hotbed for incubating innovative food companies, and the law school’s Berkeley Center for Law and Business has helped cook up a satisfying niche for foodtech entrepreneurs through its FORM+FUND and Venture Capital Deal Camp programs. “We’ve seen a lot of investor interest in this space and COVID-19 is emphasizing the need for food sources that rely less on traditional supply chains,” says Adam Sterling ’13, the center’s executive director. “Our training focuses on the legal, financial, and operational aspects of starting and scaling a business, and it’s exciting to help these Berkeley companies bring their product to market.” |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: 2020 #ToryBurchFellows Surprise Zoom Announcement
June 2020 | Tory Burch Foundation From across 36 different cities and across 13 industries, 50 women entrepreneurs have been accepted into our 2020 Tory Burch Fellows Program. Each Fellow will receive a $5,000 business education grant and access to an online community of support. |
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ARTICLE: A Visit to Hawaii Fish Company: Family-Owned Aquaculture Pioneer with Impressive Growth Plans and Huge Potential
June 2020 | Bob Robinson Hawaii Fish Company Inc. (HFC), a multigenerational family corporation and the state’s oldest land-based fish farm, has been a leader in freshwater aquaculture in Hawaii since 1978. They are situated on Oahu on the North Shore. For the past 28 years, HFC has been operating at the former US Army/Hawaii Bitumuls & Paving Company quarry and asphalt mixing plant site on state land in Kaena Mokuleia. During this time, HFC has developed a small-scale, self-sustaining aquaculture farm; researched and developed innovative aquaculture and aquaponics production technologies (supported by highly competitive national and local grants); and gained a strong and positive reputation within the local seafood and restaurant trades as a consistent and reliable supplier of premium quality farm-raised fish. |
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NEWS: Abrupt NYC Curfew Sparks Confusion for Restaurant And Food Delivery Workers
June 2020 | Tanay Warerkar and Erika Adams Confusion and concern are swirling among local legislators and restaurant industry representatives about New York’s emergency curfew order as Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office releases information in a patchwork fashion. Though the office issued guidelines three hours before the curfew went into effect on Monday, it did not seem to get into the hands of restaurant representatives or local legislators — leading to questions about enforcement, particularly as it relates to undocumented workers being asked to present identification to the increased police force in the city. |
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NEWS: Huhtamaki Marks 100-Year Anniversary with Rs 25-Crore Donation
May 2020 | PrintWeek The packaging major donated close to Rs 5-crore (0.6 million euros) to clean plastic waste from Mithi river in Mumbai. The project is also raising awareness on effective waste management. The recipient is a partnership consisting of United Nations Technology Innovation Labs, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, a Finnish cleantech start-up RiverRecycle and an India-based citizen-led environmental movement Earth5R. The Finland-based company also donated 0.9-million euros to UK-based waste management specialist, WasteAid. The project aims to drive community level circular economy in South Africa, Vietnam, and India. The two-year programme will focus on educating diverse local communities via a cloud-based learning platform, networking events, training programmes and local innovation competitions. In addition, Huhtamaki contributed more than Rs 8-crore (1-million euro) to Food System 6, a non-profit organisation which focuses on innovations for food and agriculture. The funds will be used to surface and support early stage solutions for a circular economy, via organising a start-up cohort programme. |
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NEWS: Huhtamaki Celebrates Centenary with €3m Donations
May 2020 | Plastics in Packaging Huhtamaki is marking its 100th anniversary by donating €3 million ($3.3m) to sustainability initiatives across three continents. Beneficiaries include a plastics waste cleaning project in India, a waste management training project in South Africa, Vietnam and India, and a US non-profit start-up focused on food and agriculture. |
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PODCAST: Heat of the Moment- Food 2.0
May 2020 | FP Studios *Featuring Food System 6 Founder, Renske Lynde How food production contributes to climate change and what individuals and the agricultural industry can do to make food production, distribution, and disposal more eco-friendly. It’s easy to forget that what we eat has a massive impact on global warming and the health of the planet. Take the example of livestock production, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of all agricultural land use and is responsible for nearly a fifth of all greenhouse gas gas emissions. How food is manufactured, what pesticides were used, and how it was transported to market—all of that shapes its contribution to global warming. |
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NEWS: SJ Nonprofit Provides Seedlings to Struggling Families, Bicyclists Volunteer to Make Special Deliveries
May 2020 | Amanda Del Castillo *Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Valley Verde As shelter-in-place orders remain across the Bay Area, nonprofit organizations like Valley Verde in San Jose are hoping to help build new habits and encourage better health. Specific to those currently out-of-work, or living in low-income households, the effort starts from the ground up. "It's really been a mission of ours to really try and explain the concept of food sovereignty to our families," Valley Verde Exec. Dir. Raul Lozano said. "To take a hold of your own future and how you grow your food, and how you manage it and put it in your own hands." |
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NEWS: This Week’s Top Seed Companies to Watch — NuxtJS, CrosscHQ, Milkrun, LucidLane, BasicBlock
May 2020 | Brendan Wales *Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, MilkRun We see about 5,000 startups each week, and I want to give you a glimpse into how we at e.ventures think about trending tech companies and tracking new investment opportunities. In this post, I’m highlighting top tech companies that have announced or raised a seed round within the past week. |
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NEWS: Blow Up the Restaurant Industry and Start Over
May 2020 | Marian Bull March 14 would be the last Saturday shift that Sarah worked, though she didn’t know it at the time. “We were so busy, and everyone that came in was like, ‘I can’t believe how busy y’all are! It’s good that you’re busy,’” Sarah, who asked that I not use her real name, said of the upscale Brooklyn restaurant where she worked as a server until it was shut down due to the pandemic. “And I was like, I don’t wanna be here. I wanna go home.” Guidelines from the city, both around personal protective gear and sanitation, had been unclear and contradictory. The staff was terrified. “We were watching people cough into their napkins, and I had hives on my hands from washing them so much,” she said. “I was scared out of my mind.” By that Monday, bars and restaurants across the state were shuttered, and Sarah—along with the rest of the waitstaff—was laid off, with the promise that she would be hired again. She hasn’t heard anything from her former bosses since. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Radically Local Groceries, Delivered.
May 2020 | MilkRun **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, MilkRun Not all food is created equal. The best food comes straight from local farmers, butchers, bakers and makers. Coming to Seattle soon. Sign up now to be the first to know. |
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ARTICLE: What Entrepreneurs Need to Know About the FS6 Accelerator
May 2020 | New Hope Network Staff Food System 6's mission is to support impact-driven entrepreneurs as they transform how we grow, produce and distribute food. FS6 provides entrepreneurs with the skills and support they need to successfully achieve business milestones and stands by their side as they navigate the ups and downs of taking their business to scale. Organization leaders see its role as a coach and a community builder—connecting those who are changing the food system with the resources they need to build successful and resilient solutions in food and agriculture. |
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PODCAST: 'The Four Top': Meet the New Wave of Culinary E-Entrepreneurs
May 2020 | Katherine Cole **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, MilkRun We’ve all read the articles about the surge in demand for online grocery services due to the coronavirus quarantine. For MilkRun — a service that delivers direct from farms, artisans, ranches and fishing boats — business has grown tenfold in a matter of weeks. We learn how culinary entrepreneur Julia Niiro has adapted to this seismic shift. |
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PRESS RELEASE: Huhtamaki Celebrates its 100 Year Anniversary by Donating EUR 3 Million to Circular Economy Initiatives to Address Global Sustainability Challenges
May 2020 | Huhtamaki To mark its 100-year anniversary Huhtamaki is donating EUR 3 million to global sustainability initiatives with a local impact. We are acting today, educating for tomorrow and funding innovation for the future, making a difference where it matters most to help address global sustainability challenges and build circular economy initiatives. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Amidst COVID-19 Finding Humanity Podcast Launches with a Global Agenda to Educate and Inspire Action on Critical Social Issues
May 2020 | Washington, D.C. *Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Port of Mokha In the midst of a crucial time in our history "Finding Humanity", a new podcast, launches with a big global agenda: taking listeners into the heart of the most complex social and political issues facing our world and inspiring a collective sense of responsibility and action. The Finding Humanity podcast avoids the typical approach to global affairs and instead encourages dialogue, empathetic leadership and collective action — words that are not often used in today's tense political discourse. |
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ARTICLE: With Schools Closed, Their Gardens Take on a New Role
May 2020 | Tove Danovich **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps When the schools closed in Cedarville, Arkansas in March, Tara McDaniel (pictured above) was told it would only be for two weeks. So this service member with FoodCorps—an Americorps grantee that works with schools in resource-limited areas—set to work planting crops her students could come back to. It’s clear now that schools around the country will be closed until at least next fall, but McDaniel hasn’t stopped gardening. “I want people passing by on their daily walks to see that [the garden] is still growing and that our community still grows and continues,” she says. |
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NEWS: SJ Nonprofit Provides Seedlings to Struggling Families, Bicyclists Volunteer to Make Special Deliveries
May 2020 | Amanda del Castillo **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Valley Verde As shelter-in-place orders remain across the Bay Area, nonprofit organizations like Valley Verde in San Jose are hoping to help build new habits and encourage better health. Specific to those currently out-of-work, or living in low-income households, the effort starts from the ground up. "It's really been a mission of ours to really try and explain the concept of food sovereignty to our families," Valley Verde Exec. Dir. Raul Lozano said. "To take a hold of your own future and how you grow your food, and how you manage it and put it in your own hands." |
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ARTICLE: School Gardens: A Must for Learning | Should Every School Have One?
May 2020 | Nature World News Staff **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps Gardens have been integral in the daily life of most of our ancestors for many generations. Now, however, there are very few of us who do not acquire our food from large grocery stores or supermarkets, and we take almost no thought into ruminating where they originate or how they are grown. Today, we have become too disconnected from our food and the land. With this awareness, some schools are now beginning to rectify this problem. |
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ARTICLE: 34 Movies and Series to Inspire During COVID-19
May 2020 | Danielle Nierenberg and Katie Howell **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Equitable Food Initiative While COVID-19 is exposing fundamental flaws in the global food and agriculture system, it is creating the opportunity to reimagine honoring farmers and food workers and producing healthy, nutritious food. The virus is forcing people to press pause on their daily lives, so Food Tank has compiled a list of 34 movies and series to watch from home that remind us of the power of food. This list may serve as a guide to help you learn about large- and small-scale agriculture, the relationship between diet and health, and the social and cultural implications of the food system. But these movies and series also offer hope. They show how individual choices can foster connections between people, and they may even inspire you to advocate for a more equitable food system during and after the pandemic. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Equitable Food Initiative Celebrates Five Years of Workforce Development Support
May 2020 | National Center for Appropriate Technology **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Equitable Food Initiative Equitable Food Initiative (EFI), the workforce development and training organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers, and consumer advocacy groups to improve both compliance and business performance, is celebrating its fifth anniversary. Since its launch, EFI has trained leadership teams on nearly 60 farming operations in North and Central America, improving working conditions for more than 36,000 farmworkers. Participating retailers have paid more than $8.5 million in worker bonuses through premiums generated on EFI-certified products. EFI is the only certification that covers three key areas in a single audit: labor practices, food safety, and pest management. |
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ARTICLE: The Industrial Food System Is Broken. But We Can Fix It.
April 2020 | Jaqueline Smith *Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Central Grazing Company Large-scale industrial meat production may be efficient and offer a cheap product, but this comes at a huge expense. This industry has been built on an extractive economy with supply chains that bring wealth to a few while often exploiting workers and depleting the natural world that sustains and belongs to all of us. This food system is especially vulnerable. Meat is typically processed in a small number of massive plants with employees in close proximity to each other without needed safety measures in place. This has allowed the virus to easily spread forcing plants to temporarily close and causing concern about the meat supply and potential price fluctuations. Workers and communities suffering from COVID-19 and an industry unable to be resilient in a crisis are not how things should be. And a food system that increases our risk for a pandemic and contributes to climate change is a broken system. |
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ARTICLE: The 'Waste Reduction' Trend: 5 Innovators
April 2020 | New Hope Network Staff **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Renewal Mill Today, we look at five companies that are innovating in the "Waste Reduction" trend within the Material Optimization macro force. Brands and businesses are stepping up with clever ideas to reduce and remove waste along various steps and corners in the supply chain. Through byproduct turned value add or ingredient optimization ideation, waste otherwise known as a pollutant turns into energy or edible food. |
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NEWS: EFI Offers Resources for Farmworker Protection and Continuity of Supply During Coronavirus Pandemic
April 2020 | Washington, DC **Featuring Food System 6 Company, Equitable Food Initiative In these times of uncertainty as the world responds to the coronavirus, Equitable Food Initiative has curated a library of best-in-class resources and practices that provides for employee communication during the current pandemic. EFI is a workforce development and skill-building organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer advocacy groups to promote responsible labor practices and food safety. |
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NEWS: MilkRun Delivery Connects Portland Metro with Local Food
April 2020 | Kohr Harlan **Featuring Food System 6 Company, MilkRun Business is booming at MilkRun, a Southeast Portland grocery delivery service. Boxes of food for home delivery have gone from about 400 weekly to nearly 2500 this week as the pandemic continues. About 70% of the groceries they deliver — everything from eggs to greens, meats, milk, cheese and bread — are made within 35 miles of Portland. Julia Niiro, who founded MilkRun, said she began this business as a small farmer who recognized the importance of getting food directly to consumers “who really want it and are willing to pay a good price but the key was how to actually distribute that.” |
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VIDEO: COVID-19 Summit: How Food & Ag Innovation Ecosystem is Mobilizing For Solutions During COVID-19
April 2020 | Catherine Lamb **Featuring Food System 6 CEO, Caesaré Assad |
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ARTICLE: The Local Food Revolution Goes Online—for Now
April 2020 | Lisa Held “We are so busy, this may not be my most lucid moment,” Amy McCann says when she picks up the phone, which hasn’t stopped ringing in days. McCann is the CEO of the Eugene, Oregon-based Local Food Marketplace, a software platform that farmers and other local food aggregators across the country use to reach customers online. In a normal year, McCann said, her team takes on about 50 new sellers offering everything from produce to dairy and jam. Due to an onslaught of demand, however, they’ve added 20 new users in just the last week. |
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ARTICLE: Laura Benanti Covers Jonas Brothers' ‘Sucker’ to Help Fight Against Hunger Amid Coronavirus
April 2020 | Darlene Aderoju **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps On Tuesday, the star, 40, released the heartwarming music video for her cover of Jonas Brothers’ hit song “Sucker” to help bring individuals and their loved ones together virtually as they continue to practice social distancing throughout the outbreak. Benanti will generously donate all proceeds from her rendition — which will be featured on her debut album dropping later this year — to FoodCorps, which works to connect kids to healthy food in 18 states and Washington, D.C. |
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ARTICLE: Can Technology Save the Ocean?
April 2020 | Sandra Ponce De Leon **Featuring Food System 6 Company, SmartCatch While the current news cycle filled with is nothing but endless COVID articles, it may seem hard to think about anything else, yet the dangers the ocean faces in terms of warming, acidification, overfishing, plastic and more haven’t gone away. That’s why it’s more important than ever to shine a light on those innovations that have the power to create positive ocean impact. Mark Dahm of SmartCatch points out that food security which is closely linked to the current pandemic is something that will become more important for our future. Being able to trace the point of origin, tracking of overfishing and illegal fishing activity and biosecurity are important problems that SmartCatch is solving. Its smart fishing net and software helps fisherman reduce bycatch, stick to guidelines of fishing haul and also puts the power in their hands to monetize their data. He envisions a future where seafood will be traced back through the entire supply chain to its point of origin and on the blockchain. |
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ARTICLE: 28 Innovative Livestock Farmers Who are Shaping the Future of Protein
March 2020 | Dani Niernenberg *Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Central Grazing Company It is estimated that there were 1 billion cattle and 767 million pigs worldwide in 2019. And there were 996 million chickens in 2018. The number of chickens alone is three times larger than the global human population. Animal source foods like meat, eggs, milk, yoghurt, and cheese comprise an important part of our daily diets, and the consumption is expected to continue to grow. Industrial-scale farming systems enable mass production of cheap animal foods at low cost. However, poorly managed livestock systems have raised various environmental and health concerns. Factory farms, in which 99 percent of farmed animals in the United States are estimated to live, produce tremendous amounts of animal waste that can contain contaminants such as plant nutrients, pathogens, antibiotics, and other chemicals. |
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NEWS: Netafim Integrates FluroSat's Remote Sensing Technology Into Its Digital Irrigation Management Platform NetBeat
March 2020 | Tel Aviv, Israel *Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, FluroSat FluroSat's unique remote sensing and plant metrics combines with Netafim's NetBeat platform to enable easier, more precise, and more reliable irrigation, fertigation and crop management decisions. As a result of this collaboration, Netafim's customers (and particularly NetBeat owners) get access to advanced crop monitoring tools as a standalone monitoring and analysis service or directly integrated into Netafim's NetBeat. This results in site-specific irrigation recommendations with near-real-time adjustment of irrigation and fertigation quantities based on the current crop condition assessed by FluroSense. |
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PODCAST: School Lunches Are As Important As Ever, Says Fleishman
March 2020 | Dani Nierenberg **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, the Chef Ann Foundation Today on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg,” Dani interviews Mara Fleishman, CEO of the Chef Ann Foundation, about the vital need to feed food insecure children during school closures. “When chefs are able to see that they can be creative with school food and they can help change the palates of our youngest generation – I think it brings more culinary talent into this field,” says Fleishman. |
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PODCAST: Soñar! Foods Grain-Free Tortilla Chips Give Back to Latino Community
March 2020 | Sandy Almendarez **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company Soñar! Foods Soñar! Foods’ organic Grain-Free Tortilla Chips take a classic Latin food staple, but increase the nutrition, cut the empty calories and give back to the community. These organic-certified, nutrient-dense, grain-free tortilla chips were named a finalist in the Best New Mission-Based Product category for the 2020 NEXTY awards. They are made from garbanzo beans, cassava, hemp, chia, flax and expeller pressed sunflower oil sourced from the Americas. The chips offer 5 g of fiber, 3 g of protein, 0 g of sugar and 8 g of net carbs per serving. It's also certified gluten free, Non-GMO Project verified, and dairy-free. Soñar! is a Latina immigrant owned food company on a mission to empower and nourish a nation of dreamers. 1% of its annual sales goes to the Latino Community Foundation. The company uses drought-tolerant and sustainable ingredients and is on its path to B Corp certification. |
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NEWS: 28 Innovative Livestock Farmers Who are Shaping the Future of Protein
March 2020 | Foodtank **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Central Grazing Company It is estimated that there were 1 billion cattle and 767 million pigs worldwide in 2019. And there were 996 million chickens in 2018. The number of chickens alone is three times larger than the global human population. Animal source foods like meat, eggs, milk, yoghurt, and cheese comprise an important part of our daily diets, and the consumption is expected to continue to grow. Industrial-scale farming systems enable mass production of cheap animal foods at low cost. However, poorly managed livestock systems have raised various environmental and health concerns. Factory farms, in which 99 percent of farmed animals in the United States are estimated to live, produce tremendous amounts of animal waste that can contain contaminants such as plant nutrients, pathogens, antibiotics, and other chemicals. |
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NEWS: Netafim Integrates FluroSat’s Remote Sensing Technology Into Its Digital Irrigation Management Platform NetBeat™
March 2020 | ET Bureau **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company FluroSat Netafim, the global leader in precision irrigation, and FluroSat, a leading company in remote field sensing and analytics, have announced their collaboration on integrating FluroSat’s data into Netafim’s automated irrigation and fertigation cloud-based platform, NetBeat™. FluroSat’s unique remote sensing and plant metrics combine with Netafim’s NetBeat™ platform to enable easier, more precise, and more reliable irrigation, fertigation and crop management decisions. |
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VIDEO: Caesaré Assad On The Food System, COVID-19
March 2020 | Dani Nierenberg **Featuring Food System 6 CEO, Caesaré Assad Today on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg,” Dani interviews Caesaré Assad, CEO of Food System 6 (FS6), about the solutions that FS6 and other accelerators are creating to support farmers and entrepreneurs in the face of COVID-19. “We have this really beautiful rich, diverse country where we can produce and we can create so much wealth for all of us, and it’s now about zooming in and resourcing these gaps that we know exist,” says Assad. |
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NEWS: Women Changing the Food System in New York City
March 2020 | Annette Nielsen and Alexina Cather **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Matriark Foods During Women’s History Month, it’s wonderful to be able to showcase women who stand out in the food world in a variety of ways. The women you’ll read about here, represent some of New York City’s best farmers and producers, non-profit leaders, policy makers, educators, dietitians, chefs, entrepreneurs, writers and academics. These leaders are respected and celebrated as being big thinkers and doers with smart ideas and nimble responses to how we can keep our food system functioning and serving the most vulnerable in these unprecedented times. Please join us in celebrating them and their important work, learning about who inspires them, and hearing their thoughts and hopes for the future, when we are once again able to share meals around a large table with friends, extended family and co-workers. |
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PRESS RELEASE: Whole Kids Foundation to Provide 153 New Salad Bars to Schools Across U.S. with More Than $500,000 in Grants
March 2020 | Austin, TX **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, the Chef Ann Foundation Whole Kids Foundation, a nonprofit focused on children’s nutrition and wellness, announced today that 153 new salad bars will be provided to schools in the U.S. this year. The $502,153 investment will ensure more than 76,000 students will have access to fresh, healthy produce at school. With this year’s investment in Salad Bar grants, and in partnership with Salad Bars to Schools, Whole Kids Foundation will have provided 5,794 school salad bars since 2011. Salad Bars to Schools is a public-private partnership founded by Whole Foods Market, Chef Ann Foundation, National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance and United Fresh Start Foundation. Collectively, more than $15.8 million has been invested across all 50 states providing over 2.89 million children with daily access to fresh fruits and vegetables. |
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ARTICLE: 18 Organizations to Support During National Farmworker Awareness Week
March 2020 | Foodtank **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Center for Good Food Purchasing Farmworkers feed the world. This is the rallying cry of the Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF), an organization that works with students, advocates, and farmworkers across the United States to create a more just agricultural system. The crucial contribution that farmworkers make to the food system has only heightened amid the C0VID-19 pandemic, as farmworkers are among the list of critical positions that the United States Department of Homeland Security encouraged to continue a normal working schedule. Although a lower population density in agricultural regions may delay the spread of COVID-19, farmworkers may face heightened risks to the disease due to their exposure to environmental and chemical hazards. Most farmworkers also lack comprehensive healthcare benefits as well as paid sick leave. According to the U.S. Department of Labor just 47 percent of farmworkers report having health coverage, meaning they have no benefits to fall back on if they get sick. |
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ARTICLE: Like Local Farms? You Better Step Up Now or They’re Going to Disappear
March 2020 | Catherine Lamb **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, MilkRun Certain food sources, like e-commerce grocery sites and meal kit companies, are seeing a boost in sales in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, many parts of the world are shuttering farmers markets and restaurants, eliminating key revenue sources for local farmers. So how can those farmers survive in our new coronavirus reality? Unfortunately, it won’t be easy. Small farmers make a significant chunk of their money from these markets or selling to restaurants — which, as you’ve probably noticed, are also struggling. The numbers are discouraging: Civil Eats pointed to an analysis of the impacts of COVID-19, predicting a $689 million decline in sales from March to May 2020 for farmers who sell at local markets. It’s especially tricky for farmers who sell perishable goods, like eggs and produce, which might go bad while their sales channels are blocked. |
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ARTICLE: Guest View: Rural Resiliency Keeps Children Fed
March 2020 | Sandra Renner **Featuring Food System 6 Company, Chef Ann Foundation Rural communities are showcasing resiliency by ensuring kids are fed during widespread school closures caused by the coronavirus. With so many uncertainties surrounding us, where the next meal is coming from should not be one of them. This should especially not be a concern for growing young bodies who happen to be our rural legacy. In West Point, Nebraska, all students will be provided free breakfast and lunch while school is closed. Households pick up meals at regular bus stops in town and in nearby communities the school also serves. Other rural schools are running drive-through operations and working with local organizations and volunteers to make sure meals are delivered to students who most rely on this food—those receiving free and reduced meals. In addition, Chef Ann Foundation has put together guidance for schools looking for resources to respond during this time. |
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ARTICLE: Support These 50+ Organizations Helping Restaurants, Workers, and Farmers Survive COVID-19
March 2020 | Jared Kaufman and Elena Seeley **Featuring Food System 6 Company, Chef Ann Foundation The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by a novel coronavirus, has disrupted most of the world in recent weeks. People are staying home from work, schools and colleges are moving online, and restaurants in many cities and states are mandated to serve eaters via takeout or delivery only. Farmers markets are closing or not opening at all. And, unfortunately, some cafes, bars, and kitchens have closed entirely. Food service workers—from chefs and line cooks to wait staff and dishwashers—are on the front lines of both the health and economic impacts of this disease. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Renewal Mill Upcycled Baking Flour is NEXTY Finalist
March 2020 | Anaheim, CA **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Renewal Mill ANAHEIM, CA – Upcycled ingredients company Renewal Mill is excited to announce that its 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour has been named a NEXTY Award Finalist in the “Best New Special Diet” category. After winning the “Rising Star” award at the 2019 Natural Products Expo East Pitch Slam in September, Renewal Mill (Booth #8711) is making its official debut at Expo West and will be showcasing four upcycled SKUs including its organic okara flour, its vegan chocolate chip cookie, its new brownie mix, and its NEXTY-nominated 1-to-1 baking flour. |
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ARTICLE: Equitable Food Initiative Champions Farmworker Awareness Week
March 2020 | Amy Sowder **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Equitable Food Initiative The Equitable Food Initiative is marking National Farmworker Awareness Week by encouraging growers and consumers to share messages honoring farmworkers. Typically celebrated the last week of March, this year it is March 25-31, according to a news release. EFI, a workforce development and training organization, partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer advocacy groups to set standards in labor practices, food safety and pest management, while engaging workers at all levels on the farm. |
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ARTICLE: National Farmworker Awareness Week Provides Opportunity to Celebrate Farmworkers and Educate Consumers About the Many Hands That Feed Them
March 2020 | PR Newswire **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Equitable Food Initiative EFI and its partners will use National Farmworker Awareness Week to further EFI's mission to create a more transparent food chain, safer food and healthier places to work for the men and women who produce, care for and harvest fresh fruits and vegetables. EFI also encourages growers and consumers to recognize the contributions of workers via social media posts using #FarmworkerAssured and #FarmworkerAwareness. More information can be found at https://equitablefood.org/NFAW. |
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ARTICLE: National Farmworker Awareness Week: Celebrate Farmworkers and Educate Consumers
March 2020 | Washington, D.C. **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Equitable Food Initiative This month, Equitable Food Initiative, the workforce development and training organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer advocacy groups, is marking National Farmworker Awareness Week by encouraging growers and consumers to share messages honoring the farmworkers that make it possible for Americans to have access to high-quality, fresh and safe fruits and vegetables. National Farmworker Awareness Week is a designated week of action for communities to bring attention to the multiple challenges farmworkers face, as well as to honor the important contributions farmworkers make to daily life. The week is typically celebrated the last week of March, falling on March 25-31, 2020. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Startups Changing the Face of Fashion
March 2020 | Innovators Magazine **Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, Full Cycle Bioplastics Thirteen international startups reshaping the fashion industry have been selected for the internationally-renowned Fashion for Good accelerator. For the first time, due to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the seventh batch were picked via a virtual selection day. They will now enter a nine-month programme of mentoring and funding support led by accelerator partners including adidas, C&A, Stella McCartney, Target and Zalando. “Despite changing circumstances, our important work for innovation continues. For the first time, we hosted our Selection Day virtually. As such, we are excited to welcome 13 innovators into our Programme, representing the most disruptive solutions in the areas of raw materials and wet processing,” said Katrin Ley, Managing Director Fashion for Good. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Rapids Selected as one of Five in the Nation to Participate in Healthy Foods Program
February 2020 | Wisconsin Rapids, WI **Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, The Chef Ann Foundation The Chef Ann Foundation has selected Wisconsin Rapids as one of five school districts nationwide that will participate in their Get Schools Cooking (GSC) program. The program was created to help schools create a sustainable, scratch-cooked meal program. District Director of Food Services Elizabeth Messerli said that this is the first time a school from Wisconsin was selected for the program, and it is the only Midwest school to be chosen in 2020. “We are pretty much the only district in the area to be selected,” Messerli said. “The qualifications included being committed to cooking from-scratch meals, participation in the National School Lunch Program, support from district leaders, and we had to meet the minimum district enrollment of 3,000.” The school district has a student body of roughly 5,000 and a long history of nutritional awareness. The district currently bakes its own bread for students and grows lettuce and greens at Lincoln High School through their agriculture program. |
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NEWS: Booker, Cornyn Introduce Bill to Fund School Nutrition Programs
February 2020 | Rebecca Klar **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Thursday introduced a bill proposing a pilot program to direct federal funds to school nutrition programs. The bipartisan Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Act of 2020 would allocate federal funding for projects that educate students while connecting them to healthy food practices. Priority would be given to schools in neighborhoods with high rates of childhood diet-related illnesses and schools in which 40 percent of students qualify for free or reduced price meals. |
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NEWS: Get Schools Cooking Program Helps Wisconsin Rapids Make Lunch Healthier
February 2020 | Kailin Schumacher **Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, The Chef Ann Foundation The Wisconsin Rapids School District is on a mission to make their school lunches healthy, nutritious meals. In February the district was selected along with 4 others nationwide for the Get Schools Cooking three-year grant program. Through the program the schools will get trained, receive annual evaluations, technical support and $35,000, all to help create a self-operated, sustainable-run, scratch-cooking meal program. |
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ARTICLE: Ben Westenburg lands in Jackson to Create Magic at Persephone West Bank
February 2020 | Bradly Boner **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Fare Resources Little did I imagine as I arranged to dine for my first time at Persephone West Bank that any chef could ever get me to say that lima beans are delicious. They sure were! Executive chef Ben Westenburg has a bit of magic in his approach to his creations. Westenburg grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and was home schooled from kindergarten through seventh grade. He loved spending time in the kitchen with his mom, but back then he had no intention of a culinary career. He was more oriented toward sports, playing football with an eye toward a professional career. Sports scholarships offered by neighboring states held little interest for him, only his home state. He played for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for a semester and was then cut, dashing his dreams. |
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PRESS RELEASE: FSSD Selected for Grant That Helps Schools Implement Healthier Meals
February 2020 | Boulder, CO **Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, The Chef Ann Foundation The Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) announces that five districts, including Franklin Special School District, have been selected as the fourth cohort of Get Schools Cooking, a three-year grant program that helps districts nationwide transform their school lunch programs to include healthy, nutritious meals. |
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ARTICLE: Worried About Your Baby Developing a Food Allergy? These Products Might Prevent It
February 2020 | Lauren Manaker You may want your baby to inherit your humor, your hair color, or your ability to play the harmonica like a boss, but one thing you likely don't want for your child is for them to inherit your food allergies. After all, if both parents have allergies, the chances of baby developing allergies as well is thought to range from 60 to 80 percent. Unfortunately, even if there is no family history of food allergy, your baby might not get off scot-free, as not all food allergies are genetic. It is estimated that 12 percent of children who develop a food allergy have no family history of allergy. Experts suggest that one in 13 kids in the US have a food allergy. Having a food allergy can lead to symptoms like difficulty breathing, rash, vomiting, and potentially death if a triggering food is eaten. Being a parent of a child with a food allergy can be a huge source of stress for all family members. |
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ARTICLE: Valley Verde Comes Up with a ‘Rad’-ical Eating Challenge
February 2020 | By Sal Pizarro **Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, Valley Verde Would you pony up $20 just to avoid eating a radish? Many people’s reluctance to eat the somewhat spicy root vegetable raw is at the heart of a tasty new fundraiser cooked by San Jose nonprofit Valley Verde, which aims to reduce food insecurity by teaching people to grow edible gardens at home. The “Eat Your Veggies Radish Challenge” campaign launched Tuesday with a goal of raising $40,000 by the end of March to bring more healthy fruits and vegetables to low-income families and children. Anyone can sign up at www.valleyverde.org and pledge to become a “Radish Champion” — meaning you’ll donate $20 and get five other people to do the same within two weeks. For every “friend” who fails to match the donation, the Radish Champion is expected to post a video of themselves on social media eating a raw radish and saying “Eat your veggies!” |
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ARTICLE: Food Tech News: Amazon Go Heats Up Offerings, New Funding for Premade Meal and Local Food Delivery
February 2020 | Catherine Lamb **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, MilkRun Milkrun, an online marketplace for farmers, announced fresh VC investment on a Linkedin post this week. The Portland, OR-based startup connects local farmers with nearby consumers, facilitates sales, and coordinates delivery logistics. The amount of funding it received from Social Impact Capital, its first VC investment, was undisclosed. In the same Linkedin post Milkrun also announced that it would be part of the Techstars Anywhere 2020 cohort. |
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PODCAST: Sweetgreen’s Next Big Investment
February 2020 | Sam Oches **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps On a mild, sunny Friday near the end of October, a group of six-year-olds files into a cafeteria in Alexandria, Virginia. A few split off to find seats among the dozen or so empty tables, hauling with them lunch boxes sporting the likes of Chase from Paw Patrol or Elsa from Frozen. The rest of the kindergarten class marches through the line that will lead them into a bright kitchen, where they’ll collect that day’s hot food item: pizza. (It’s Friday after all.) But their first stop in the lunch line—in fact, the very first thing they see when they arrive at the cafeteria—is a salad bar, filled with fresh foods like salad greens, tomatoes, and hard-boiled eggs. |
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ARTICLE: Upcycled Food Association Takes Flight
February 2020 | By Beth Kaiserman Upcycled food may sound appetizing (ok, it may not), but as more consumers care about fighting food waste, food industry members want identifying upcycled products to be easier. This starts with creating a clear definition and labeling standard for ‘upcycled food’ — an early goal for the recently-launched industry organization Upcycled Food Association (UFA). |
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ARTICLE: Surplus Veggies and High-Tech Farm Cooperatives: FS6 Accelerator Announces New Cohort
February 2020 | By Catherine Lamb **Featuring Food System 6 Food System 6 (FS6), a San Francisco Bay Area-based food and agriculture accelerator program, just announced the participants for its fifth cohort. The six chosen startups are focused on creating sustainable solutions for farmers, ranchers, and other upstream food producers. All participating startups will receive a year of mentorship and support in areas like business development, marketing, and R&D. Through FS6’s partnership with investment fund 1st Course Capital, each cohort member will also get a $25,000 cash investment after they complete the accelerator program (in exchange for 1.5 percent in equity). |
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ARTICLE: From khat to coffee: revitalising an age-old Yemeni crop
February 2020 | By Bethan McKernan and Hussein Nasser in Haraz, Yemen **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Port of Mokha Yemen has exported coffee since the 1400s: the Red Sea port of Mokha gives chocolatey coffee its name. Although native to Ethiopia, the coffee plant was developed into the form that gives us the modern beverage by Sufi monasteries in Yemen that shared it with traders and pilgrims. Eventually, coffee made its way to Constantinople (now Istanbul), Baghdad and London, leading to the rise of the coffee house. Today the global coffee industry is worth £61.4bn, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil. Decades of political instability, however, mean that the quality and availability of Yemeni beans has fluctuated – but now a growing handful of dedicated farmers and exporters are determined to restore Yemen’s reputation as the birthplace of black gold. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Five Districts to Implement Scratch Cooking in Schools
February 2020 | Boulder, CO **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, The Chef Ann Foundation The Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) is excited to announce five districts selected as the fourth cohort of Get Schools Cooking, a nationally recognized three-year grant program designed to guide districts through the process of becoming a self-operated, sustainably-run, scratch-cook meal program, with focus on five key areas of school food operations: food, finance, facilities, human resources, and marketing. |
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ARTICLE: Proagrica Brings Flurosat Into the Fold
February 2020 | Sharon O'Keeffe Lets face it, when it comes to agtech software most farmers and agronomists want a one-stop-shop, and rightfully so. With an overwhelming number of products on the market, but very little real information on actual performance or runs in the paddock, investing in a new tool or platform is perceived as a risky proposition. However news that agtech start-up Flurosat has partnered with Proagrica to deliver its range of tools through the grand-daddy of precision agriculture platforms, Sirrus, signals the agtech industry might be finally maturing, recognising collaboration is a more viable pathway forward. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Food System 6 Launches Fifth Cohort of Accelerator Program
February 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area, CA **Featuring Food System 6 Food System 6 has launched the fifth iteration of its accelerator program, which aims to solve for a range of sustainability and community-focused challenges. The selected participants will receive a year of custom coaching and mentorship aimed at supporting them through their next major growth milestones. “This amazing group of entrepreneurs is removing barriers on behalf of the farmers, producers, and food workers who are revitalizing local foodsheds, supporting rural communities, and building healthy soil that feeds their own families and ours,” said Caesaré Assad, CEO of Food System 6, in a statement. |
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ARTICLE: The Role of Traceability and Transparency in the Supply Chain
February 2020 | Hannah Stolze Sustainability has been established as a major concern of consumers. Many growers and retailers are partnering with transparency accountability groups like the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) to respond to consumer demand. Food safety is also introducing additional challenges in ready-to-eat food industry items such as fresh fruit, vegetables, and nuts. Melons, pecans, and sweet potato specialty crops are undergoing renewed scrutiny as the healthier-eating food movement increases their popularity and consumption. These food products introduce many challenges to the supply chain, from social responsibility to traceability. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Pilot Light Announces Inaugural Citizen Food Conference With Award-Winning Chef Speakers Dan Barber (Blue Hill), Dan Giusti (Noma), Camilla Marcus (West~Bourne), Tunde Wey (SAARTJ, BabyZoos), Chef Ann Cooper And More
February 2020 | Chicago, IL ** Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, The Chef Ann Foundation Chef Ann Cooper is an internationally recognized author, chef, educator, public speaker, and advocate of healthy food for all children. In 2009, Chef Ann founded the Chef Ann Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping schools take action so that every child has daily access to fresh, healthy food. Chef Ann has also been honored by the National Resources Defense Council, awarded an honorary doctorate from SUNY Cobleskill, and received IACP's 2012 Humanitarian of the Year award. Named one of the "Influential 20" by Food Service Director Magazine and one of the top 15 crusaders for Health in the Food Industry by Greatist.com. Ann has received the Women Chefs and Restaurater's community Service Award and a Special Inspiration award from the Susan. B. Komen Foundation. In 2016, she was named "One of the Top 50 Food Activist" by the Academy of Culinary Nutrition. |
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NEWS: Trends at the 2020 Winter Fancy Food Show
January 2020 | Monica Matrous *Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Renewal Mill Functional teas, instant noodles and global sauces were among emerging trends spotted at the Winter Fancy Food Show. The event, held Jan. 19-21 in San Francisco, featured more than 80,000 products on display from 1,400 exhibitors. “As the specialty food industry hits a record year of growth with $148.7 billion in sales, we’re seeing that health benefits and sustainability concerns will continue to drive more food and beverage trends in 2020,” said Denise Purcell, head of content at the Specialty Food Association. “But there’s also room for fun, whether in the form of canned cocktails or global condiments.” In its 45th year, the Winter Fancy Food Show is “busting at the seams,” said Phil Kafarakis, president of the Specialty Food Association, which produces the event. “We’ve come a long way in just three years,” Mr. Kafarakis said. “We were kind of outside the mainstream of food … but now we intend for the food industry to recognize us as the place where you shape the future of food.” |
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ARTICLE: SmartCatch Ameliorates Commercial Fishing Practices
January 2020 | Susan Rockefeller While working with family in the commercial fishing industry and filming a documentary about the challenges faced, Rob Terry became inspired to use his tech knowledge to help stop fishermen from fishing blindly. His company, SmartCatch, highlights three main technologies: DigiCatch, DigiServices, and SmartNet. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: The Milkman Is Back! Portland Startup MilkRun Lands VC Investment and Joins Techstars Accelerator.
January 2020 | Portland, OR The online marketplace built for farmers by farmers has been growing rapidly since launching from founder and CEO Julia Niiro’s farm in 2018. After becoming a farmer, herself, and purchasing a USDA meat processing facility with well-known Portland Chefs Ben Meyer and James Serlin, Niiro realized the challenges of access to local markets for farmers in her region. “People want to buy local,” Niiro said. “They want to buy food from people they can trust, but there isn’t a current solution that meets the needs of modern consumers and busy families. Home delivery offers us the opportunity to bring back the original delivery model for farmers but in a new way.” |
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ARTICLE: New Trade Group Seeking to Mainstream Upcycling
January 2020 | Keith Nunes Upcyclers, those food and ingredient manufacturers who incorporate food waste into products, have formed the Upcycled Food Association. Launched in October 2019, the nascent group’s goal is to develop a formal definition of upcycling and advocate for policies that will inform consumers and accelerate marketplace acceptance of finished products and ingredients. The founding group included eight members, but the association’s membership has more than doubled since its inception, said Caroline Cotto, chief operating officer of Renewal Mill, Oakland, Calif., and president of the association. “Our first directive as an organization is to formally define what it means to be upcycled,” Ms. Cotto said. “We are working with a lot of government agencies, the food-waste non-profit ReFED, and some researchers from Dexel University on the term upcycled, food waste, and what it means to consumers.” |
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ARTICLE: Battling Inequity in Food Systems with Entrepreneurship
January 2020 | Olivia Rebanal Communities benefit from investments in local food systems. And those investments are growing—from large retailers to incubator kitchens, farmers markets, and urban farms— opportunities to create ownership and access centered on fresh food are increasing. Communities of color, however, have fewer opportunities in the food economy than whites, resulting in a variety of detrimental impacts, among them health related and the exacerbation of the racial wealth gap. At a time of such innovation and growth in the food economy, why do these discrepancies still exist? |
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ARTICLE: Trends at the 2020 Winter Fancy Food Show
January 2020 | Monica Watrous **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Renewal Mill Functional teas, instant noodles and global sauces were among emerging trends spotted at the Winter Fancy Food Show. The event, held Jan. 19-21 in San Francisco, featured more than 80,000 products on display from 1,400 exhibitors. “As the specialty food industry hits a record year of growth with $148.7 billion in sales, we’re seeing that health benefits and sustainability concerns will continue to drive more food and beverage trends in 2020,” said Denise Purcell, head of content at the Specialty Food Association. “But there’s also room for fun, whether in the form of canned cocktails or global condiments.” |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Naturally Bay Area Gives Annual Pitch Slam Award to A Dozen Cousins
January 2020 | San Francisco, CA **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Renewal Mill Naturally Bay Area, a non-profit company that connects entrepreneurs with investors in the organic industry, awarded the 2020 2nd Annual Pitch Slam award to A Dozen Cousins on Jan. 19 at the Mission Bay Conference Center. Six brands competed at the Pitch Slam including: A Dozen Cousins, Bread SRSLY, Down to Cook, Dr Hops Kombucha, Outlaw Soaps, and Renewal Mill. Each brand shared their company’s story and gave a timed business pitch to a panel of judges. Brands also had the opportunity to mingle with judges, key speakers and special guests. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Equitable Food Initiative Expands Training Team
January 2020 | Washington, D.C. **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Equitable Food Initiative Chipotle Mexican Grill announced the Chipotle Aluminaries Project 2.0, an accelerator program designed to support ventures from across the country that are advancing innovative solutions to empower the next generation of farmers. The industry-leading program is sponsored by the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation in partnership with Uncharted, both nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations. From now until March 11, 2020, farmer-focused companies may submit applications to join a new cohort of ventures that will receive eight months of customized support, including mentorship from industry leaders. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Equitable Food Initiative Expands Training Team
January 2020 | Washington, D.C. **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Equitable Food Initiative Equitable Food Initiative is proud to welcome Ana Luisa “Lulu” Rivera Collazo in the newly created position of workforce development specialist. Rivera Collazo will be responsible for training EFI leadership teams in workplace collaboration and problem-solving skills. Rivera Collazo is no stranger to EFI and has been training on EFI farms since 2016 prior to joining the staff as a full-time facilitator in late 2019. Her full-time hire comes at a critical growth period for EFI as it begins to build capacity and expand to more farms across North, Central and South America. EFI facilitators have already trained leadership teams on 57 farms with workforces totaling more than 35,000 farmworkers. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Equitable Food Initiative Expands Training Team, Hires Ana Luisa Rivera Collazo as Workforce Development Specialist
January 2020 | Kayla Webb **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Equitable Food Initiative Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) recently added both a new position and a new face to its team. After creating the position of Workforce Development Specialist, the organization tapped Ana Luisa “Lulu” Rivera Collazo to fill the role. As the Workforce Development Specialist, Collazo will be responsible for training EFI leadership teams in workplace collaboration and problem-solving skills. |
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ANNOUNCEMENT: Equitable Food Initiative Creates Workforce Development Role
January 2020 | Chris Koger **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, Equitable Food Initiative The Equitable Food Initiative has promoted Ana Luisa “Lulu” Rivera Collazo to workforce development specialist, a new position for the organization. Rivera Collazo will train EFI leadership teams in workforce collaboration and problem-solving skills, according to a news release. She has been training on EFI farms since 2016, and joined EFI full time in 2019 as facilitator. EFI is building capacity to cover more farms across North, Central and South America, and has trained leadership teams on 57 farms, according to the release. “Lulu’s dedication to her work and her exceptional skills in facilitation and building leadership teams is a valuable skill set so we’re very glad to have her on board full time,” Gretta Siebentritt, director of workforce development at EFI, said in the release. “Her experience is well-suited to help our growing number of farm operations looking to train and develop strong leadership teams.” |
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ARTICLE: What if Children Ran the School Lunchroom?
January 2020 | By Anahad O’Connor **Featuring Food System 6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps On a recent Tuesday, the cafeteria at KairosPDX charter school in Portland, Ore., was buzzing as students lined up to taste two freshly made butternut squash recipes. On one side of the table was roasted butternut squash. On the other side, a creamy butternut squash soup. “This one is the best,” said Mari, a fifth grader, as she gulped soup from a small cup. “It’s super delicious. I want a big bowl of it to eat at home.” The students were participating in a “Tasty Challenge” event organized by FoodCorps, a nonprofit organization that connects children to healthy food in schools. The group recently teamed up with Sweetgreen, the national salad chain, to carry out a new program that aims to improve the school food experience by letting students customize their meals, participate in taste tests and brainstorm ways to redesign their school cafeterias. |
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NOMINATION: FS6 CEO, Caesare Assad Nominated as an Emerging Leader in Food & Ag
January 2020 | San Francisco, CA **Featuring Food System 6 CEO, Caesaré Assad Emerging Leaders in Food & Ag aims to train, build community amongst, and honor up-and-coming professionals across the agriculture supply chain in order to ensure that the enormous challenges facing food and agriculture today are addressed by a new generation of innovative, engaged leaders. Voting opens January 21st 2020. Caesare Assad is the CEO of Food System 6. Her 20+ years of food work as a chef, entrepreneur, and business executive spans entity types and functions - all centered around healing connections through food and building community. Caesare is a talented connector and sees the bigger picture of the food system and is able to connect the dots in truly remarkable ways. Her expertise in so many areas of the food system truly make her an exceptional leader and thinker. Ask her a question about almost anything in the food world and she has a perspective to share or a person to learn more from. Always open to new ideas and to learning, Caesare truly leads by example and inspires all of the people who know her. |
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PRESS RELEASE: Renewal Mill Debuts 1-To-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour
January 2020 | San Francisco, CA ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, Renewal Mill Leading upcycled ingredients company, Renewal Mill, will formally debut its 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour at this year’s Winter Fancy Food Show (Booth #3339). The 1-to-1 blend features Renewal Mill’s flagship ingredient, okara flour, and has 25% more protein and more than 4x the fiber of the leading gluten-free cup-for-cup blends. “We kept hearing from consumers that they were dissatisfied with their current gluten-free baking options. Other blends were either too beany, not 100% plant-based, or nutritionally lacking. Renewal Mill saw an opportunity to meet these needs, while also introducing a climate-friendly, sustainable ingredient to consumers,” said Claire Schlemme, Co-founder and CEO of Renewal Mill. |
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PODCAST: Maria Garcia Brennan of Soñar! Foods
January 2020 | The Curious Eater ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, Soñar! Foods Maria Garcia Brennan, the CEO and co-founder of Soñar!, shares her journey as a Mexican immigrant and the first in her family to go to college. Now as a mother of two, she runs a young food company that is showing her daughters and the rest of the Latinx community that anything is possible. |
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NEWS: Farmers ask for funding to fight pasture pest threatening Hawaii’s third largest commodity
January 2020 | By Chelsea Davis ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, Kunoa Cattle Co. The beef and milk industry brought in $43 million to Hawaii in 2017. However, many of the fields where those cattle graze are losing grass and ranchers aren't even sure how to stop it. The two-lined spittlebug saps nutrients from the grass and ranchers fear it could cripple Hawaii’s third largest commodity. The pasture pest was first spotted on the Big Island in 2016. Back then, it had done extensive damage to about 2,000 acres of pasture. Farmers currently estimate that number has now exploded to 150,000 acres. "If we don't get on top of it, will fundamentally change the landscape and the potential for livestock production to exist in the state," said Mark Thorne, Range and Livestock Management Specialist with the University of Hawaii at Manoa. |
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ARTICLE: How Colorado’s rural and urban food communities are coming together
January 2020 | By Tamara Chuang ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, Center for Good Food Purchasing The movement to improve locally sourced options at schools and other public institutions started years ago. But as momentum increases, the challenges are becoming more pronounced. At a recent conference in Denver on institutional food purchasing, there was frustration about low-cost bids that don’t value nutrition, or the challenge in getting local produce delivered. And there was plenty of talk about labor shortages impacting nearly every part of the food industry. |
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PODCAST: One On One With: Reimagining School Cafeterias with FoodCorps
January 2020 | Hosted by Becky Schilling ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps If you could remake a school cafeteria, what would it look like? That’s the basis of a newly released report by FoodCorps, a nonprofit that works with communities to connect students to healthy food in school. The team’s Re-imaging School Cafeteria’s report provides 13 areas of opportunity for child nutrition professionals, schools and the community. Listen in as they dig in with Erica Curry, director of education for FoodCorps, on how students, in particular, would re-imagine their school cafeteria, if given the chance. |
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ARTICLE: Here's my experience using PastureMap
January 2020 | By Brian Alexander I was one of the first subscribers to PastureMap about four years ago and have been on it ever since. At that time, I read an article somewhere that got me turned onto it. I thought “This is the tool I’ve dreamed of." When I came out of the navy in 2006, Dad had a pasture map on the wall and that was good, but once you wrote something down on it, that was it. I tried spreadsheets but wasn’t good enough with them to create the grazing chart on them, with such things as movements and forage inventories. I used Google Earth a lot in those years. It gives you a top-down perspective, and you can draw fences and water and infrastructure, but it’s not always up to date. Then about 2014 I saw PastureMap. I really need a ranch map that I can see and manipulate. It's how my brain works. |
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ARTICLE: What Students Are Saying About Improving School Lunch, ‘#Megxit’ and Emoji Fun
January 2020 | By The Learning Network ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps In this week’s roundup of student comments on our writing prompts, we asked young people for suggestions on how they would improve school lunches, invited them to weigh in on the current situation with the British royal family, and issued a literary challenge involving emojis. We asked students to tell us what they thought about FoodCorps, the lunches at their school and their cafeteria experience overall. Many shared suggestions for improving the quality of the food offered, as well as ideas for minimizing the amount of waste. |
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ARTICLE: FoodCorps Engages Students to Help Shape School Lunches
January 2020 | Part of the Food Policy Snapshot Series ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps Nonprofit FoodCorps, which aims to connect students to healthy foods in schools, has launched a pilot program, Reimagining School Cafeterias, which creates opportunities for students to voice their opinions and make choices in the cafeteria. The program is informed by the work of many leading school districts who elevate student voice in their meal programs across the country. Reimagining School Cafeterias is made possible through FoodCorps’ partnership with for-profit Sweetgreen, a fast-casual salad chain with a focus on inspiring healthier communities. |
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ARTICLE: Plastic Packaging Alternatives - Are they causing more harm?
January 2020 | By Priyom Bose, PhD ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, Full Cycle Bioplastics A California based company, Full Cycle Bioplastics, has established a technique for converting food scraps and other organic waste into compostable plastic. They claim that the material manufactured will be as cheap as oil-based plastics when produced on a large scale. Andrew Falcon, Chief Executive of Full Cycle Bioplastics, stated that their invention has the potential to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and ease plastic pollution in the ocean, as well as on land. The material would degrade without leaching toxins into the environment. |
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OPINION POLL: What Suggestions Do You Have for Improving Lunch at Your School?
January 2020 | By Shannon Doyne ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps If researchers conducted a survey to measure student satisfaction with lunch at your school, what do you think your peers would say? What would you say? At KairosPDX charter school in Portland, Ore., students recently took part in a “Tasty Challenge” event organized by FoodCorps, a nonprofit organization that connects children to healthy food in schools. The students sampled two recipes that featured butternut squash and voted for the one they liked better. The landslide winner, a soup, may be added to the school menu. If the same event took place at your school, would butternut squash be received with such enthusiasm? Do you think school leaders would welcome student suggestions about how to improve school lunch if the suggestions promoted healthful eating? How well does your school do with offering meals that are nutritious and popular among students? |
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ARTICLE: Should students help create school lunch menus?
January 2020 | By Annalise Knudson ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps What would a school lunchroom menu look like if it was created by students? That’s what one non-profit organization recently set to find out. Non-profit FoodCorps, which aims to connect children to healthy food in schools, recently partnered with national salad chain Sweetgreen to introduce a way for students to have more power when it comes to the food they eat at school. |
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ARTICLE: Gluten-free baked foods persevere by staying in step with emerging trends
December 2019 | By Donna Berry ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, Renewal Mill Today’s food conversation may be dominated by cannabis, plants and proteins, but don’t think for a minute that gluten-free claims have waned. Rather, consumers expect products sporting gluten-free callouts in every aisle of the supermarket, much like organic and other free-from products. “Not only is gluten free not going away, but grain-free, gluten-free baked goods are growing with more consumers seeking alternatives using seeds and nuts, as well as the many cauliflower and other vegetable-based ‘flours’ coming to the marketplace,” said Kara Nielsen, vice-president of trends and marketing, CCD Innovation. |
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ARTICLE: Our New Neighbors: FoodCorps member gets taste of Umatilla
December 2019 | By Jessica Pollard ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, FoodCorps The best is yet to come for Ellie Dutcher. Dutcher, who recently graduated from Southern Oregon University, moved to Umatilla this summer to serve as one of nine FoodCorps service members across Oregon. Being part of FoodCorps — an AmeriCorps offshoot — means whipping up snacks and serving nutritious lesson plans at McNary Heights Elementary all year long. During their one-year terms, service members like Dutcher aim to connect kids to healthy food. But what she’s really excited for is growing a garden — which will likely house herbs, as well as all the makings for salsa — with the students this spring. |
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ARTICLE: Four Portland Delivery Services You Might Not Know About
December 2019 | By Shannon Gormley ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, MilkRun Unlike other pseudo-ecological grocery delivery services, everything MilkRun sells comes from within 35 miles of Portland. It's like a CSA with way more options, or a year-round farmers market you don't have to leave your house for. |
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ARTICLE: 120 Organizations Creating a New Decade for Food
December 2019 | Contributing Authors: Andrea Oyuela, Thea Walmsley, and Katherine Walla ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Companies, Chef Ann Foundation + Food Corps To start off the year, we’ve compiled a list of 120 organizations to keep an eye on in 2020 that are working towards a more sustainable food system. Have a happy, safe, and delicious New Year! |
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PODCAST: How Soñar! Foods Brings Their Brand’s Mission to Life
December 2019 | Hosted by Katie Mleziva ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio Company, Soñar! Having a well-defined brand strategy in place for your natural food company helps you clarify a message that resonates with your consumers, and makes stakeholders like buyers and investors to want to learn more. Today on the Real Food Brands Podcast, host and Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva talks to Maria Garcia Brennan and Pete Brennan, co-founders of Soñar! Foods, an organic grain-free tortilla chip company that brings a focus to uplifting the Latino community as part of everything they do with their business. Katie highlights Soñar! as an example of a natural food brand that is well-aligned on both the front and back end of the business when it comes to supporting the brand strategy, or “north star.” |
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ARTICLE: Best Alternative Charities for Your Donations
December 2019 | By Penelope Wang ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio company, Chef Ann Foundation You can always give money to a big, high-profile charity that embraces a number of different missions. But what if you want to find a smaller, lesser-known organization that focuses solely on a cause you care about? There are a growing number of online resources that can help you identify reputable charities where your donations may go further in supporting your cause. We provide a list near the end of this report of some alternative charities you might want to consider. |
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ARTICLE: ‘Top Chef’ Alum Tu David Phu Will Start Serving Pho at His Oakland Banh Mi Pop-Up
December 2019 | Luke Tsai **Featuring FS6 Portfolio company, Emmer&Co Tu David Phu, the outspoken Oakland chef and former Top Chef contestant, first ditched the world of fine-dining tasting menus earlier this fall to start a banh mi pop-up in Uptown Oakland, during lunch hours at Copper Spoon. Now, as the weather turns cold, Phu has his eyes on a new pop-up of sorts that he plans to pilot inside his popular banh mi pop-up, serving pho, the most comforting of cold weather foods — pho ga, or chicken pho, to be specific. For his first pho event this Saturday, Phu plans to serve a fairly basic chicken pho, made with Emmer & Co whole pastured chickens, with hoisin and Sriracha as table condiments, for $12.99 a bowl — available in limited quantities until it sells out. In the future, though, he plans to mix things up, perhaps dropping smoked brisket, bacon, chicken sausage, or an egg into the pho — “as you would see in the streets of Vietnam,” Phu says. “They’re not ever limited to one thing.” |
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ARTICLE: FoodCorps, community advocates visit CES
December 2019 FoodCorps members, community partners and advocates visited Carrollton Elementary School on Monday to learn more about the FoodCorps/Carrollton City Schools partnership that began in the 2016-17 school year, the first of its kind in Georgia. |
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ARTICLE: 57 farming operations are now applying the EFI program
December 2019 In 2019, Equitable Food Initiative received a $1.2 million grant from Walmart Foundation to advance responsible labor practices in Mexico, welcomed 15 new operations to its program, partnered with Costco Wholesale on a joint promotional campaign, updated its standards to align to the Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices, continued progress toward Global Food Safety Initiative accreditation, and unveiled a two-year study by BSD Consulting that quantifies effectiveness of its programs. But in reflecting on this past year, it’s the positive impacts made on individual lives that give EFI staff, board members and partners the most satisfaction and fulfill the nonprofit organization’s mission. |
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ARTICLE: Equitable Food Initiative Reflects on the Impacts Made in 2019
December 2019 | By Melissa De Leon With the end of 2019 so near, the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) is looking back on a year chock full of impactful efforts to increase transparency in the food supply chain and improve the lives of farmworkers. Specifically, EFI’s staff, board members, and partners are proud of the strides made to fulfill the nonprofit organization’s mission, which included a whole host of successes. “From engaging farmworkers who feel more valued to providing bonuses that help cover basic necessities, our success is measured by how we improve farmworkers’ lives,” said LeAnne Ruzzamenti, Director of Marketing Communications for EFI. “And now 57 farming operations are applying the EFI program with active leadership teams who work to create safer and healthier conditions for 34,000 workers. As these numbers continue to grow, it’s important to reflect on the stories of the individuals and organizations who have been impacted.” |
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PRESS RELEASE: Equitable Food Initiative Makes a Difference in 2019
December 2019 | Washington In 2019, Equitable Food Initiative received a $1.2 million grant from Walmart Foundation to advance responsible labor practices in Mexico, welcomed 15 new operations to its program, partnered with Costco Wholesale on a joint promotional campaign, updated its standards to align to the Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices, continued progress toward Global Food Safety Initiative accreditation, and unveiled a two-year study by BSD Consulting that quantifies effectiveness of its programs. But in reflecting on this past year, it's the positive impacts made on individual lives that give EFI staff, board members and partners the most satisfaction and fulfill the nonprofit organization's mission. |
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ARTICLE: How to Fight Back Against Injustice in Your School Cafeteria
November 2019 | Jennifer Gaddis This op-ed argues that our system of “cheap” industrial food and low-wage labor is incredibly costly in the long term.**Featuring FS6 Portfolio companies the Center for Good Food Purchasing and FoodCorps I’ve spent the last eight years interviewing cafeteria workers across the country and studying the history of school lunch activism. Along the way, I’ve learned what young people can do to make a difference, for themselves and for the millions of low-wage workers who grow, harvest, process, distribute, cook, and serve the meals they eat at school. I’ve been inspired by the vision for a Youth Food Bill of Rights put forward by Rooted in Community, a national network of youth-centered food justice organizations, and the efforts of nonprofit organizations like the Center for Good Food Purchasing and FoodCorps to create transparent, equitable, and sustainable food systems, beginning with school cafeterias. |
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STUDY: EFI worker engagement model creates positive outcomes for grower-shippers
November 2019 Equitable Food Initiative released the results of a two-year study undertaken by BSD Consulting to assess the impacts of EFI’s workforce development programs. A summary report of the research notes how the EFI model is improving working conditions, developing skills in workers and managers, strengthening management systems, enhancing business performance and ultimately creating a cultural shift within grower organizations. The study found that when fresh produce farming operations engaged workers and managers in an EFI leadership team and taught them to work collaboratively to comply with standards for labor practices, food safety and pest management, a variety of positive outcomes resulted for the business. When EFI was applied to develop workers’ soft skills and to provide the systems that engage them, farming operations experienced advances in organizational culture and management systems. |
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ARTICLE: The Many Ways Local Companies Give Back
**Featuring FS6 Portfolio company, Kunoa Cattle Co. November 2019 | LiAnne Yu Most people also wouldn’t describe cattle ranching as good for the environment. But Kunoa Cattle Co. and Hawaii Meats are not following the rest of the industry, says Bobby Farias, a Kunoa co-founder now with Hawaii Meats, which operates the former ranching and processing divisions of Kunoa. “A lot of our passion and tenacity comes from the fact that the ranching community in Hawai‘i refuses to give up. … Ranchers are the frontline stewards of open space in Hawai‘i. Not only is there a passion to keep the history alive, but there’s an absolute necessity to it. If we can pay our own way and grow, we can help manage fire fields, stabilize topsoils and keep open spaces open. If we want to keep the country country, we’ve got to keep the country alive,” says Farias. |
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PRESS RELEASE: B.Good partnering with FoodCorps
November 2019 Boston-based B.Good has joined 1% for the Planet. As part of becoming a 1% for the Planet member, the chain will partner with FoodCorps and donate 1% of app sales annually to the organization, which connects children with healthy food at school. More specifically, the partnership will help provide funding for Sprout Scouts, a kid's club for elementary-aged students that teaches them how to grow, prepare and eat healthy food. In 2019, FoodCorps hosted more than 120 clubs and reached 1,800 students in Sprout Scouts clubs across the organization's footprint. |
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PRESS RELEASE: FluroSat Releases PIVOThermo - a New Trusted Tool for Automated Pivot Monitoring
November 2019 | San Francisco, CA FluroSat announced the release of PIVOThermo alert, the first tool in a suite of automatic analytics the company has been building with industry partners across both hemispheres. PIVOThermo is an innovative tool that integrates thermal imagery and machine learning to automatically detect clogged and leaking nozzles in center pivots. "We don't build analytics for the sake of it. On every new product, we work with the specific needs of our customers, on one hand, and real-world data from partners like TerrAvion on the other hand. Our customers shape the product to fit their workflows, taking agronomic analytics to the last mile of "automation" and turning it into real decision aid for every busy agronomist thriving to manage hundreds of fields to their full potential." |
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EVENT: The Vine Meetup - Why Food Waste Matters for People and the Planet
November 2019 | Davis, CA A food waste event highlighting the innovative work happening locally and in California in AgTech and FoodTech. The VINE (Verde Innovation Network for Entrepreneurship) Food and Agriculture Innovations Meetup is on November 19 in Davis at the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame from 6-8 PM. The evening will start and end with an opportunity to network with others interested in food and agriculture innovation, sustainability, and the opportunity for our region to lead in these areas. The talks will be moderated by Deema Tamimi from Land & Ladle and The VINE. |
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NEWS: Food System 6 Announces Caesaré Assad as New CEO
October 2019 | San Francisco, CA Food System 6 announced today that Caesaré Assad will be stepping into the Chief Executive Officer position, after 2 years as the Program Director. Former CEO and co-founder, Renske Lynde, is now President of the Board of Directors and co-founder, Peter Herz, will continue serving as CFO as well as joining the Board as a Director. This transition enables FS6 to continue to grow as an important voice for improving understanding of the food system and supporting entrepreneurs as they bring their innovations to market. |
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PRESS RELEASE: Renewal Mill Wants You to Feed Your 6-Month-Old Soy – Yes, Really
October 2019 | Oakland, CA Renewal Mill announces the debut of an allergen-filled baby food with fellow female-led company, Square Baby. While many of today’s top CPG companies are eliminating allergens from their labels, Renewal Mill is leaning in. This fall Renewal Mill is partnering with Square Baby, the world’s first and only meal system for babies that delivers 100% Daily Nutrition, to incorporate organic okara flour into their customizable baby meal plans. |
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ARTICLE: Should Emergency Food Be the Long-Term Solution to Hunger?
October 2019 | By Bridget Shirvell ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio company, the Center for Good Food Purchasing Every year millions of Americans rely on emergency food, including food banks and food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) or the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) for their next meal. While these programs are referred to as emergency or supplemental programs, they have, nevertheless, evolved over time into resources that many Americans rely on for survival. Read more... |
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NEWS: National Real School Food Challenge
October 2019 | by Serena Ung Chef Ann Foundation, a trail-blazing nonprofit that is dedicated to healthier school food, recently announced that 12 chefs across the U.S. are helping bring awareness to the need for school food reform through the Real School Food Challenge: National Restaurant Edition this October. The Real School Food Challenge enlists the support of healthy food advocates to show it is possible to create delicious, nutritious food that is scalable for school kitchens. |
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INTERVIEW: Finding Hope in the World’s Greatest Food Challenges
October 2019 | Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum In honor of World Food Day on Oct. 16, Raising Regenerative spoke with two different leaders in the space to get their perspective on the biggest challenges facing the food system. Caesare Assad and Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin open up about the culture of cheap food, bio-diversity, and their hopes for the future. They answer the following questions: 1) What do you see as the greatest challenge facing our food system? 2) How can regenerative agriculture (and a regenerative food system) address this challenge? 3) What steps are you taking in your work to address food system challenges? 4) Given your answers to the three questions above, what gives you hope for the future? |
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EVENT: SOCAP19
October 2019 | San Francisco, CA SOCAP is the leading gathering of global change-makers addressing the world’s toughest challenges through market-based solutions! Food System 6 will be joining the panel "What Does Clean Mean?: Examining the Alternative Meat and Protein Industry. This panel will shine a light behind the marketing curtain of the alternative protein trend. Bringing together experts from many sides of the issue, we will deep dive into the highly-touted benefits of clean meat, cell-based-agriculture, and plant-based proteins, with the aim of providing a constructive and thought-provoking opportunity for the SoCap audience to engage on the topic. All too often, we get caught up in the positive feedback loops of emerging technologies so this conversation will bring together thought leaders from various sectors who will dig into some of the more complex and contested issues being debated in the space. Despite being a conversation of differing opinions, the goal of this discussion will focus on alignment seeking perspectives. The panel will focus on addressing the following topics as they relate to alternative protein: - Land-based production models that solve for the same problems as cell-based agriculture like climate, waste, health, animal welfare, etc. - The importance of diversified solutions to the issues plaguing the food and agriculture space - The social, environmental, and human health impacts of lab-produced vs land-based agriculture solutions - The role of storytelling in the rise of “clean meat” and the food/ag investing the landscape more broadly - “Clean meat” as a tool for rural southern farming and ranching communities - Analyzing the energy and resource intensity of land-based vs cell-based solutions - Examining the methodologies and tools used to engineer substitutes for natural systems that have co-evolved for millions of years. What do we understand? What remains elusive? |
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PODCAST: Caroline Cotto, COO of Renewal Mill
The Regeneration Podcast October 2019 | 24 min In this episode I’m meeting with Caroline Cotto, COO of Renewal Mill, a next-generation food company helping reduce global food waste by upcycling okara. Okara is the pulp from organic soybeans that is turned into a nutritious, versatile flour. We are talking about the food scene in Oakland, the company mission, where Renewal Mill is heading in the future, what large corporations can learn from smaller food startups and how build a company with a circular mindset. Host is Elise Johanson. |
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NEWS: Home Gardens May Help Deal With Food Insecurity And Health Problems
October 2019 | NDTV Food ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio company, ValleyVerde The study that was published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour, recommends prompting home gardening, assisted by nutritional education to overcome all food and health related problems. Researchers from the University of California at San Francisco joined hands with Valley Verde, a community-based urban garden organisation in Santa Clara County, California. The aim was to study the concept and outcome of education-enhanced urban home gardening. Read more... |
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PRESS RELEASE: FluroSat appoints Global Director for Business & Product Development
October 2019 | PR Wire ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio company, FluroSat FluroSat is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Manal Elarab as its Global Director of Business & Product Development, based out of California, U.S.A. This strategic appointment comes as part of FluroSat’s business expansion into the Americas following a range of successful deployments with industry leaders. Read more... |
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ARTICLE: Perception is reality: data reveal gender bias in agri-foodtech investing
October 2019 | By Jessica Pothering ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio company, PastureMap Female startup founders face more skepticism, loaded questioning, and smaller commitments from investors than their male counterparts. And female founders in agri-foodtech are no exception, according to a new report. Just 7% of agri-foodtech deals and 3% of the record-breaking volume of dollars invested in the sector 2018 went to female-founded teams, according to the report released by AgFunder, Karen Karp & Partners and The New Food Economy in collaboration with S2G Ventures. Only 16% of deals and 5% of investment dollars supported startups with at least one female co-founder. |
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EVENT: Impact & Strategy for Early-Stage Food System Entrepreneurs
October 2019 | San Francisco, CA Join Food System 6 at the Kaiser Family Foundation offices for a 1-day Impact & Strategy program designed to provide you with practical tools to effectively communicate your impact and prepare you for fundraising. You will have the opportunity to network with other change agents, hear directly from investors, and learn from practitioners from the FS6 ecosystem. FS6 Community Happy Hour Following the event, we invite our whole FS6 community to a networking happy hour in SOMA from 5pm - 6:30pm. |
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ARTICLE: The 100 Women Building America's Most Innovative and Ambitious Businesses
September 2019 | Inc. Magazine ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio company, MilkRun The entrepreneurs on Inc.'s second annual Female Founders 100 list have transformed every major industry in America. Meet the boundless dreamers making the biggest difference in 2019. Read more... |
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ARTICLE: From Yemen with love: Port of Mokha founder hopes to help improve lives of Filipino coffee farmers
September 2019 | By Annelle Tayao-Juego **Featuring FS6 Portfolio company, Port of Mokha To some, a cup of coffee is simply a morning pick-me-up, fuel to get through the day. But to others, it’s a way of life, a tool that can “build bridges, create moments and leave a lasting impact on the world,” says Mokhtar Alkhanshali, founder of single-origin coffee company Port of Mokha. The Yemeni-American has empowered coffee farmers from his native Yemen by helping them improve their farming and harvest techniques, and selling their produce at a premium in the US market. Read more... |
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NEWS: Renewal Mill wins Expo East 2019 Pitch Slam Rising Star Award
September 2019 | By Cameron Simcik ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio company, Renewal Mill New this year, the Pitch Slam Rising Star Award is presented to a Pitch Slam finalist brand demonstrating integrity, innovation, scalability and solid storytelling. This go around, Claire Schlemme of Renewal Mill snagged the award and for good reason. Read more... |
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ARTICLE: Caroline Cotto of Renewal Mill on the Upcycled Food Movement and the Next Generation of Ingredients That Are Leading the Way
September 2019 | By Steph Rodriguez ** Featuring FS6 Portfolio company, Renewal Mill Renewal Mill, a Bay Area food ingredients company that upcycles the byproduct leftover from soy milk production, is at the forefront of the food waste movement. Its current focus is okara, the wet pulp-like substance that’s left behind after the soy milk manufacture process. Renewal Mill transforms okara into a nutrient-rich flour that can be used in everyday kitchens to bake soft, vegan chocolate chip cookies, gluten-free pancakes, high-fiber muffins and much more. The VINE spoke to Cotto to learn more about okara flour and its nutritional benefits, what’s in store for Renewal Mill in the years to come and how people are responding to the upcycled food movement. Read more... |
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ARTICLE: MilkRun Saves Small Farms with a New System of Local Food Distribution
September 2019 | Published by Susan Rockefeller Farmer Julia Niiro founded MilkRun to save her community in Portland, Oregon as 90% of America’s small farms face extinction, which means our ability to directly purchase from our food producers faces extinction as well. She is utilizing technology and sustainable practices to bring back the original home delivery model used by farmers to supply their local communities (the days of the milk man). Though it’s only available in Portland right now, MilkRun is working on starting up in Seattle by the end of this year before eventually expanding to Austin and Denver. |
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EVENT: The Ethics of Eating
September 30 - October 2 | Purdue University ** FS6 co-founder Renske Lynde, Speaking The ethics of eating is a very topical issue with concerns about:
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EVENT: Regenerative Food Systems Investment (RFSI) Forum
September 30 - October 1 | Oakland, CA **Caesare Assad, Speaking Offering a unique convergence of investors and thought-leaders in the regenerative agriculture and food space, the Regenerative Food Systems Investment (RFSI) Forum is a can’t miss event for anyone interested in investing for maximum impact and results. The program is designed to equip participants for successful participation in this investment space, as well as provide ample time to develop strategic business relationships. |
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EVENT: Future of Food Summit
September 18 | New York, NY FS6 C0-founder and CEO, Renske Lynde, will be joining EatingWell and the International Food Information Council Foundation at their first-ever Future of Food Summit on September 18 in NYC. Consumers are rethinking their choices. Climate change is buffeting agriculture. Technology is shifting what we know about food. And Americans are still struggling with how to eat for better health. The time is now to consider how to transform our food system for a better tomorrow. FS6 Panel: Plants to Animals: Where Is Our Protein Obsession Headed? 2:30 – 3:45PM Americans love to focus on the health benefits of protein, but we’re worried about its impact on the environment. What’s a thoughtful eater to do? Stick with meat, go lab-grown, turn to plant-based alternatives? The options are evolving by the day, especially with help from an influx of investment capital. For a full line-up of panel topics and speakers and to buy tickets, visit www.EatingWellIFICSummit.com |
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EVENT: Global Table, Seeds&Chips
September 3-5, 2019 | Melbourne, Australia Renske Lynde will be representing FS6 in the following panels: - On the heels of innovation: the women leading the global food revolution Women are experiencing one of the most profound periods of collective action and meaningful change across the world, as the quest for equality and recognition coalesces into a global social movement to reclaim their rights and dignity. The food system is not exempt from this groundswell, and women continue to push the debate for a better food system forward through their words and actions. This panel brings together some of the most influential figures in the food tech world to talk about how women are leading the way and occupying a central role in more sustainable food systems. Watch the panel here... - Rocket launch: accelerating entrepreneurship and food innovation across the globe How can accelerators and incubators provide the best support to food companies and startups? Different strategies and approaches, along with factors such as location, market trends and the broader cultural context, can vastly change the trajectory of a company. This panel brings together the experts and founding partners of major food accelerators to understand best practices and emerging trends that will foster collaboration for the food system of tomorrow. Watch the panel here... |
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ARTICLE: Raising the Steaks: Kunoa Cattle Delivers Local, Grass-Fed Beef to the O‘ahu Market
How the Hawai‘i cattle ranch began supplying O‘ahu’s supermarkets, restaurants and schools—something Hawai‘i ranchers have been trying to do for two decades. August 2019 | Honolulu Magazine Of all the food that Hawai‘i imports, beef seems the most absurd. The Hawai‘i Cattlemen’s Council estimates we import around 90% of the beef we eat, and ship away about 75% of Hawai‘i’s 120,000 head of cattle. As in literally ship: The live animals are loaded into containers on boats (and some on planes) and sent across the Pacific. Read more... |
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NEWS: Equitable Food Initiative Receives Walmart Foundation Grant to Promote Responsible Labor Practices in Mexico
July 2019 | PR Web (Washington, DC) Equitable Food Initiative has received a $1.2 million grant from Walmart Foundation to advance responsible labor practices through workforce development programs on fresh produce farms in Mexico. The grant runs through the end of 2020. Read more... |
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PRESS RELEASE: Food System 6 Accelerator Announces Applications Open and Partnership with 1st Course Capital
July 2019 | PR Underground (San Francisco, CA, July 17th, 2019) Food System 6 (FS6), a food system innovation accelerator in the San Francisco Bay Area, is announcing a partnership with investment fund, 1st Course Capital (1CC). Both FS6 and 1CC are committed to supporting entrepreneurs that are building a more sustainable and equitable food system. In stride with their open call for applicants, FS6 is pleased to offer, through their partnership with 1st Course Capital, the opportunity for a $25k investment for eligible for-profit companies in their upcoming 5th cohort of entrepreneurs. Read more... |
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Full Cycle Bioplastics Turns Bacteria Waste Into "Nature's Plastics"
July 2019 | By Susan Rockefeller By now, everyone knows that plastics are a problem. But besides recycling packages and skipping the straws, what can we actually do to challenge the dominance of plastic in our lives? Andrew Falcon, CEO of Full Cycle Bioplastics, has one important solution. “It’s about changing our perspective to stop thinking about materials as waste, and instead think about all materials as resources,” he explains to Musings. Full Cycle Bioplastics is one of the most innovative players we’ve encountered working in the circular economy. They produce “nature’s plastic” or PolyHydroxyAlkanoates (PHAs). Read more.... |
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The Green New Deal Wants Farmers to restore the land, not keep wrecking it
June 2019 | By Ainsley Harris The sweeping framework—and surprisingly, Silicon Valley tech—could help soil-repairing practices like regenerative agriculture take off. Read more... **Featuring FS6 Cohort Alumni, Christine Su, PastureMap |
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Innovation in Entrepreneurship: Driving Change in Food and Agriculture
June 2019 | Hosted at The Commonwealth Club Listen here to the podcast held at The Commonwealth Club and co-hosted by FS6. We face some unprecedented challenges today related to how we grow, produce, distribute and consume food. Entrepreneurs are at the forefront of this movement to design a food system that is focused on the health of people and planet. Listen in on a conversation led by Peter Herz, Co-founder of Food System 6, a Bay Area based non-profit organization that supports mission-driven entrepreneurs who are developing innovative solutions to some of our greatest food system challenges. Peter is joined in conversation with Jordan Schwartz, co-founder and chief grainmaster of ReGrained; and FS6 Alumnae Andrew Falcon, CEO of Full Cycle Bioplastics and Christine Su, CEO of PastureMap. |
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15 Inspiring Women Leading in the AgTech Sector
June 2019 | By Thea Walmsley The convergence of agriculture and technology, or AgTech, is becoming one of the fastest-growing sectors in Silicon Valley, with investments totaling over US$10.1 billion in 2017. However, women-led startups consistently receive a smaller share of these investments. Industry-wide, women-led companies received just two percent of the total venture capital investment in 2017—only US$1.9 billion out of the total US$85 billion invested by venture capitalists that year. Read more... **Featuring FS6 Co-Founder and Managing Director, Renske Lynde, |
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These entrepreneurs Are Taking a Systems Approach to Food Challenges
May 2019 | By Lorin Fries Innovative new food companies are emerging everywhere. Some sell new products; others offer new services. It is rare that such ventures embody a whole new way of thinking about our food systems. Earlier this month I met graduates of the Food System 6 accelerator who are tackling such broad-scale challenges -- whether by influencing the food choices of Latino millennials (Maria Garcia Brennan, Soñar! Foods); taking a holistic, preventative approach to animal health (Louis Hui, Healthy Cow); or redesigning school meals (Mara Fleishman, Chef Ann Foundation). Systems change is hard. It takes long-term vision and collective, adaptive action. I asked these entrepreneurs about the problems they’re tackling, what motivates their work, and their hopes for impact in five years. Read More... |
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EVENT: FS6 Cohort 4 Innovation + Investment + Impact Forum
May 2019 | Emmeryville, CA Showcasing Entrepreneurs and Exploring Forces Driving Food System Change Join us for an extraordinary afternoon at Clif Bar & Company headquarters in Emeryville, California. You'll hear from the entrepreneurs behind some of the most promising solutions to our planet's greatest food production and distribution challenges. You'll experience an interactive food system education exploring key challenges and opportunities for driving change across the food and agricultural value chain. You'll engage with thought-provoking ideas and with global leaders across the food industry, the public sector, scientists, influencers and others that will challenge your assumptions and introduce you to new ideas. You'll leave with a new perspective on the key forces at play in the changing food system innovations, and opportunities for investment and impact. In addition to presentations by FS6 Cohort 4 entrepreneurs, the agenda will feature dynamic speakers from across the food system as they explore opportunities to invest in the future of how we grow, produce and distribute food. Speakers will include: · Rada Dogandjieva, Senior Agriculture Programs Manager, Clif Bar and Co. · Eric Chen, Investor and Partner at Ovo Fund · Daphne Miller, MD - Author, Clinical Professor UCSF, and Founder of the Health from Soil Up Initiative |
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Renske Lynde on Cultivating Food System Entrepreneurs for Impact
February 2019 Imagine if the focus of your work was to identify the most promising entrepreneurs. Those who could potentially develop transformative and scalable food and agriculture solutions. Imagine working closely with those entrepreneurs as their ideas blossom and their businesses develop. How fun would this be? Such is the work of Renske Lynde, director of Food Systems 6, a nonprofit California public benefit corporation based in the San Francisco Bay area, whose mission is to support promising entrepreneurs who want to transform how we grow, produce and distribute food. Listen to Podcast. |
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Food system failures in our age of abundance
January 2019 | By Ertharin Cousin How can we turn the tide, directing investment and innovation to build inclusive and sustainable food businesses for the future? We think an answer lies in working with and through market-based players, from startups to large companies, enabling new models of tech-enabled innovation designed with, for, and by underserved communities. Read more... |
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Accelerating Entrepreneurship in the Food System
December 2018 | By Katerina Bozhinova Profile on Renske Lynde, Co-founder of FS6: Renske Lynde brings 20 years experience in food, agriculture, nutrition, and policy to the field of mission-driven food innovation. As a co-founder and managing director of the non-profit accelerator Food System 6 (FS6), Lynde guides food entrepreneurs who have the goal to transform the current food system. Innovators receive mentorship, access to a broad contact network, and innovative financing to devise impactful solutions for the environment and society. Read more... |
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A New Food System At The Intersection Of Purpose And Profit
December 2018 | By Lorin Fries We are seeing the dawn of a new food system -- one spurred by new types of mission-driven business models and investment. Renske Lynde, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Food System 6, is one of the dynamic pioneers driving this transition. I sat down with Renske to invite her thoughts on what this new food system might look like. In a wide-ranging discussion, she shared insights into some of the promising companies and technologies that could transform the industry, and how we can finance this transition. Read more... |
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More Than $125 Million Poured Into Food Waste Startups In 2018
November 2018 | By Dana Gunders An influx of money is going to companies that prevent food from going to waste. A report released today by ReFED tallies $125 million of private investment in the space in the first 10 months of 2018 alone... Corporate accelerator programs at Chobani, Chipotle, and Maersk Ventures have all named food waste as a focus area and other food system accelerators such as Food System 6, Food-X, and Rabobank’s FoodBytes! have included food-waste-fighting companies in their portfolios. Read more... |
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It’s Time to Reinvent Food Waste!
November 2018 | By Lori Miller Kase “We are seeing an absolute explosion of innovation and entrepreneurship around the area of food waste,” says Renske Lynde, co-founder of Food System 6, a California-based non-profit focused on improving the existing food system. “There is a huge market and appetite for these types of products—and an incredible amount of capital coming into the space.” |
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Innovations for a Healthy Food System
August 2018 | By Dr. Elizabeth Baca and Stephanie Fisher In preparation for the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS), Dr. Elizabeth Baca and Stephanie Fisher are exploring the innovations in climate change and health. In this interview with Renske Lynde, Co-Founder of FS6, they explore the potential for food system innovation to help mitigate against the existential threat of climate change. |
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Food System 6 Innovation Forum - Cohort 3
June 2018 | Hosted by Clif Bar & Co. FS6 Innovation + Investment + Impact Forum showcased Cohort 3 entrepreneurs and explored forces for driving food system change. Learn more about Cohort 3 here. |
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Investors Seek Startups that Balance Health, Sustainability and Broader Supply Chain Support
May 2018 | By Elizabeth Crawford Startups that balance the health of consumers and the planet, as well as consider how their product impacts others up and down the supply chain are catching the attention of investors, according to industry insiders. Read more... |
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Climate Change, Innovation, Health, and Partnership: They’re all connected and we should be too
May 2018 | Dr. Elizabeth Baca, Senior Health Advisor at the Governor's Office of Planning and Research As we move to more innovative systems-level solutions we quickly realize that partnership is vital. To take the actions above and to see the solutions in a different way requires a diversity of perspective, talent, and knowledge. Different partners including business leaders, health systems, public health departments, community leaders, entrepreneurs, developers, community planners, non-profit partners and government need to come together. Read more... |
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How Innovation is Answering the Challenge of Food Waste
May 2018 | By Katy Askew Food waste is a significant issue up and down the supply chain. Emerging food tech innovations are stepping up to meet the challenge. Read more... |
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PART I: The Basics of Blended Capital
April 2018 | By Renske Lynde The range and scale of the challenges in our global food system requires us to chart innovative new paths towards solutions. One way we can leverage all the knowledge and capital required is to support the paths of early-stage entrepreneurs (ESEs) who are building scalable solutions. Read more... |
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PART II: Blended Capital for Investors
April 2018 | By Renske Lynde “Intelligent capital” ... is capital that recognizes the value of early-stage sustainability organizations, and it is becoming increasingly important for investors on both sides of the aisle to recognize the potential impact of participating in these sectors. Read more... |
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Food System 6 Accelerator Puts a Fresh Spin on Food Production
April 2018 | Susan Rockefeller Musings Q&A series interviews people who lead by example, waking us up to our own potential to make the world a more balanced place. Read the FS6 profile here. |
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PRESS RELEASE: Food System 6 Reveals Newest Cohort in their Food Accelerator Program
March 2018 Cohort 3 includes for-profit and non-profit entrepreneurs working to positively transform the food system. Read more... |
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Food System 6 Innovation Forum - Cohort 2
November 2017 | Hosted at Cavallo Point Lodge FS6 Innovation + Investment + Impact Forum showcased Cohort 2 entrepreneurs and explored forces for driving food system change. Learn more about Cohort 2 here. |
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Menus of Change Annual Report
2017 | Menus of Change This report, put out by the Culinary Institute of America and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, profiles Food System 6 on page 57, alongside other initiatives working to improve the food system. Read the report... |
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The Shift Is On: From Industrial Food to Integrated Systems
The way we think about food is changing dramatically April 2017 | By Renske Lynde & Sarah Williams Today’s food system — how we harvest, distribute, and consume the foods we eat — is both a thing of wonder and a threat to our modern world. Read more... |
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Transforming AgTech Week 2017
April 2017 Silicon Valley Forum presents "The Seeds of our Future: AgTech and the Connected World." Sarah Williams, FS6 Managing Director will speak on "Paths to Food Traceability." The program will bring together 100+ leading agriculture startups, VCs, researchers and business executives to a full week immersive experience in Silicon Valley and Northern California. Participants will visit the ground floor of AgTech innovation, including Sacramento, Davis, Watsonville, and Salinas, as well as exploring the technology ecosystem in San Francisco and Palo Alto. |
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TINY FARM_short from Susan Rockefeller on Vimeo. |
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RENEWAL MILL from Susan Rockefeller on Vimeo. |
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FS6 Perspective
March 2017 FS6 surfaces and supports entrepreneurs who are transforming the way we grow, produce, and distribute food. In this piece, FS6 shares its perspective on the evolution of our food system from hunter gatherer through today's industrial food system (Food System 5). Additionally, we explore what Food System 6 will look like and how it may evolve. |
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Food System 6 Innovation Forum - Cohort 1
February 2017 | Hosted at the California Academy of Sciences On February 9th, FS6 hosted its first Impact + Innovation + Investment Forum to mark the completion of their first cohort of entrepreneurs. At the event, more than 150 leaders from across the food system gathered to hear presentations from leading scientists, advocates, government officials, companies, and foundation on the transformation to a sustainable food system, and to hear from FS6 entrepreneurs about how their companies and organizations are driving change in the food system. Learn more about Cohort 1 here. |
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Can This Incubator Bring About Big Change in The Food System?
Renske Lynde’s new Food System 6 aims to empower food entrepreneurs and create large-scale change. January 2017 | By Kristine Wong From establishing farmers’ markets in Pennsylvania to improving the quality of school lunches in San Francisco’s public schools, Renske Lynde has spent more than 20 years working to transform the food system. But she always felt she could be making a greater impact. Read more... |
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Eating Matters Podcast: Episode 76 - Food System 6
January 2017 | Host Jenna Liu Host Jenna Liut kicks off the first Eating Matters episode of the 2017 winter season with guest Renske Lynde, Co-founder & Managing Director of Food System Six Accelerator, a San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit that connects food system entrepreneurs with business acumen and capital. Listen here. |
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Paths to food traceability
November - December 2016 | By Micki Seibel and Sarah Williams As a part of our ongoing exploration of sustainability and tech in the food system, Orange Silicon Valley teamed up with Food System 6 to publish a four-part series of insights about the challenges that exist surrounding traceability. While transparency is a goal that stakeholders throughout the food system share, the obstacles for consumers, supply chains, brands, and entrepreneurs can be entrenched and nuanced. PART I: Consumer views of truth PART II: Knots in the food web PART III: The biggest challenges for brands PART IV: How entrepreneurs can find opportunities |
