Eat the Change Impact, the philanthropic engine of Bethesda plant-based food startup Eat the Change, is preparing to award its next wave of grants — and, just like last year, adding to the original dollar amount.
The nonprofit, from Honest Tea founder Seth Goldman and wife Julie Farkas, is expanding the 2-year-old program by increasing an initial $1 million commitment over three years to, now, $1.385 million. It’s the second time the partners have grown that original number.
ETC Impact said it will dole out a total $500,000 this year — broken into more than 30 grants of $10,000 to $25,000. That funding will support other nonprofits and individuals focused on “expanding access and awareness of the benefits of planet-friendly diets,” Farkas said in a statement.
The program will support players educating about the source and environmental impact of foods, promoting understanding about the connection between climate change and diet, expanding access to planet-friendly foods in underserved communities and supporting innovation around this work, according to the organization.
The nonprofit, now accepting applications through May 14, plans to announce winners in late July. In 2021, ETC Impact gave grants to 36 nonprofits out of more than 100 applications. The 2020 awards, totaling $335,000, went to 21 nonprofits in amounts of $10,000, $7,500 and $5,000.
Past recipients locally have included the District’s D.C. Greens, Friends of the National Arboretum Washington Youth Garden and Common Good City Farm; Silver Spring’s Charles Koiner Conservancy for Urban Farming; and Takoma Park’s Crossroads Community Food Network; in addition to organizations across the U.S.
Eat the Change, the nonprofit’s sister company, comprises businesses that make foods free of animal products, including vegan fast-casual restaurant PLNT Burger from celebrity chef Spike Mendelsohn.
The healthy snack startup recently raised $4.5 million to continue expanding its organic mushroom jerky line and to roll out its new child-tailored carrot chews across hundreds of retailers, as the Washington Business Journal first reported. That capital came on top of a prior $4.9 million in lifetime funding.
The business is aiming to exceed $3 million in revenue this year, after hitting its $1 million revenue goal in 2021.
