By: Katherine DiMatteo
Although most of the Climate Collaborative’s funding comes from generous donations from companies, we have received a few grants that help support our programming to help companies improve their climate practices. Eat the Change Impact™ (ETC Impact) is one of these crucial funders. Founded in 2020 by social entrepreneurs Seth Goldman and Julie Farkas, ETC Impact is a grant program dedicated to promoting and expanding access to climate-friendly foods.
“One of the core goals of our grants is to support a movement that makes it easier for people to embrace more planet-friendly diets and behaviors.” – Seth Goldman, co-founder of Eat the Change
Eat the Change Impact plans to donate more than $1.25 million over three years to support a diverse group of changemaking nonprofit organizations, and we were honored and grateful to be chosen as grant recipients in 2020.
The ETC Impact grant funded much of the Climate Collaborative food waste programming over the past year including:
- Timely trainings on managing food waste amid supply chain disruptions, with insights and tips on actions retailers and brands could take to minimize food waste in the wake of COVID.
- An exclusive deep training on the new ReFED Insights Engine and Roadmap to 2030.
- An update and relaunch of our 2020 food waste resources
- A tailored session on how CC brands, retailers, and distributors, can get free access to the full landscape of tools that the CC and ReFED have each developed to shape and inform their food waste approaches.
- The publication of numerous blog posts and emails spotlighting the new resources and sessions to maximize their reach and impact.
ETC Impact’s generous support for these efforts is already making a difference! Roughly 1,000 people have accessed our food waste guide online and it has been cross-posted and shared with thousands more companies via the SME Climate Hub, INFRA, and others.
“We’re excited to support the many changemakers, like the Climate Collaborative, working to inspire people to make the connection between climate change and the foods we eat every day.” – Julie Farkas, co-founder of ETC Impact
Climate Collaborative companies are making great strides in reducing food waste. According to our most recent survey, 82% of responding companies reported making progress on their food waste commitments in 2020--outperforming almost every other commitment area.
On behalf of all of us here at the CC, I want to offer a huge “thank you” to Seth, Julie and the team at Eat the Change Impact for supporting our work to address climate change by helping the natural products community of retailers, manufacturers, and producers reduce food waste and the associated emissions.