MONTEREY, CA – National Produce Distributor, PRO*ACT, is inviting qualifying local farms to apply for up to $30,000 from their grant program, Cultivating Change. With a total of $85,000 available for farms looking to fund new and innovative projects, PRO*ACT seeks to promote a culture of sustainability in the fresh food supply chain by encouraging innovation and environmentalism to local farms nationwide.
The application process opened on October 1st and will conclude on December 15th, 2018. Afterwards, a group of industry professionals will conduct a panel review, while the general public votes on their favorites. Both voting and panel review will conclude on January 31st, 2019, and the winners will be announced on February 4th, 2019.
At the end of this grant cycle, PRO*ACT will have invested over $300,000 in projects through Cultivating Change grants, positively impacting local farms, families, and communities throughout the country. From microgreens to watermelons, farmers of all backgrounds have been able to meet their improvement and sustainability goals.
Cultivating Change was originally launched in 2015 by PRO*ACT’s sustainability program, Greener Fields Together; renowned for being the food industry’s first comprehensive, national, seed-to-fork sustainability program. Since its inception, Cultivating Change has funded projects for over 30 farms in 17 states – with over half of all grant money going to women or minority-owned farms.
2017 winner Arizona Microgreens used their $5,000 grant for a germination chamber – optimizing the growing process. “The Cultivating Change grant program shows us that PRO*ACT understands the ways in which small farms often face funding gaps” shared founder, Joseph Martinez, “this can make a huge difference for the viability of the farm. Winning a Cultivating Change grant closes the gap for us.”
Qualified farms from across the United States are invited to apply for a grant starting October 1st, and encourage their community to support them during the voting period.
For application guidelines, eligibility details and more, visit www.cultivatingchange.org
About Cultivating Change: Cultivating Change is PRO*ACT’s annual local farm grant program (now in it’s fourth year) focused on funding local farmers initiatives to grow their farms in a sustainable way.
About Greener Fields Together: Greener Fields Together, PRO*ACT’s sustainability program, is a collaboration of environmentally responsible parties, including farmers, distributors and foodservice operators, who have come together to make steady, measurable improvements in sustainability and food safety practices through all levels of the produce supply chain.
About PRO*ACT: PRO*ACT is North America’s leading distributor of fresh food to the foodservice and retail industries, sourcing from premier national, regional and local farmers. PRO*ACT streamlines the produce supply chain, offering significant cost benefits. PRO*ACT serves as an easy, one-call solution to source the freshest produce from more than 70 third-party inspected, independently owned, local distribution centers across the United States and Canada. PRO*ACT provides category cost management through commodity contract pricing, in-house consultation services and integrated produce program distribution management.
Source: PRO*ACT
