Bethesda’s Eat the Change, a plant-based food business Honest Tea founder Seth Goldman launched in March 2020, is ready to fund a second set of organizations through its own nonprofit. And it’s growing the program.
The company’s philanthropic arm, called Eat the Change Impact, has opened applications for its second round of grants totaling $525,000, up from the $335,000 it doled out in 2020 as part of a three-year initiative to support groups promoting food equity and sustainability.
That initial $1 million donation from Goldman and his wife, Julie Farkas, has now grown to $1.25 million — supported with $25,000 from Amsterdam-based Upfield’s Flora Plant Butter brand, ETC said in late March. And with the latest capital, the grant program stands to support between 30 and 50 organizations with $10,000 to $25,000 grants. Last year, awards went to 21 nonprofits in amounts of $10,000, $7,500 and $5,000.
Locally, that roster 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.
This year’s charge: Backing groups focused on educating the public about where their food comes from, promoting understanding about the connection between climate change and diet, expanding access to planet-friendly foods; and supporting innovation around this work.
The application for this grant cycle closes May 14. ETC Impact expects to announce award recipients in late July.
Eat the Change, a 2020 Inno on Fire winner, comprises businesses that make foods free of animal products, including vegan fast-casual restaurant PLNT Burger from celebrity chef Spike Mendelsohn. In March, he and Goldman launched their first branded product line under the ETC brand: a line of organic mushroom jerky now selling in 300 retail stores nationally. The venture has raised nearly $5 million to get to this point.
And there’s more on deck for 2021, Goldman said at the time, with an intention to introduce another product line before year’s end and generate several million dollars in revenue. But it first needs to establish proof of concept for the mushroom jerky. “The goal for this first year is to demonstrate velocity for the brand and for the category, and that then gives us the jumping-off point to expand our distribution,” he said.
