USDA gives Elevated Foods $20 Million to expand climate-smart agriculture practices and markets
Elevated Foods is the latest Climate-Smart Commodities program grant recipient, receiving $20 million from USDA to accelerate its work improving the U.S. food system. Elevated Foods’ plan is to advance climate-smart production practices on hundreds of farms and several hundred thousand acres of working land. It’s ultimate goal? To sequester more than a half million metric tons of carbon over the next five years, according to a news release.
“Elevated Foods was founded to increase the health of our planet and its people, and this project does exactly that,” Founder and CEO Steve Brazeel said in a news release. “We’re overjoyed to expand our work in supporting our nation’s fruit and vegetable farmers in producing and marketing healthy, safe, affordable and sustainable climate-smart crops. The resounding endorsement of USDA, through its investment of $20 million, will help to usher in greater transparency to the fresh produce supply chain and return more profit to the farmers growing our food.”
The California-based fresh produce brand partner provides support services and positioning insights to growers. Additionally, Elevated Foods connects highly differentiated, traceable fruits and vegetables products to interested retailers, foodservice distributors and processors.
“Consumers and commercial purchasers are increasingly interested in knowing where their food comes from and how it was produced. Farmers are eager to meet this demand; however, existing production systems and distribution channels don’t afford access to bring these products to market profitable,” Brazeel said in the release.
Related news: New Data Shows Ag’s Climate Footprint is Shrinking
Over the next five years, according to the release, Elevated Foods will support fruit and vegetable producers to implement climate-smart production practices by:
- measuring and monitoring
- verifying ecosystems services
- quantifying carbon and greenhouse gas emission reductions associated new practices
- develop markets to promote produce crops as climate-smart commodities
- promote offerings to a wide range of customers and communities
Elevated Foods will execute this project in partnership several governmental and non-profit organizations such as:
- California Department of Food and Agriculture
- Solutions for Urban Ag
- World Wildlife Fund
- University of Arizona
- International Fresh Produce Association
- AgLaunch
- Soil Health Academy
- Understanding Ag
- California Association of Food Banks
More on USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities
The historic $2.8 billion investment from USDA into its new Climate-Smart Commodities Program, launched in February 2022, is designed to expand markets for climate-smart commodities and encourage climate-smart agricultural practices on a diverse range of farms and ranches. Climate smart practices include cover cropping, water management, conservation tillage, integrated pest management, promoting biodiversity and nutrient management.
