Roots of Change Fund Awards $600,000 in its First Funding Round

CONTACT:
Jamaica Maxwell, 415-421-4213 x24
Michael Dimock (Ag Innovations) 707-528-2222
Eileen Brady (Ecotrust) 503-227-6225
Jonathan Kaplan (NRDC) 415-777-0220


SAN FRANCISCO, California - Three projects that will work to improve public and environmental health and the safety of food in California launched today after receiving funding from the Roots of Change Fund (ROC Fund). Each project works toward accelerating the transition to sustainable food systems in California. The ROC Fund has committed over $600,000 to the three projects.

These three grants represent the first round of funding of the ROC Fund, a collaboration among nine philanthropic foundations that have created a new pool of funds to transform California's food systems. The ROC Fund is the largest pool of private funding in California expressly for supporting the transition to a healthier food system.

The first project, Building a Vivid Picture of Sustainable Food Systems is a major research project to describe in detail how all sectors of the food system will operate when California transitions to a more sustainable way of growing and distributing food. This project will also identify the key action steps to take in the near term to improve California's food systems. This project will be carried out by the non-profit organization Ecotrust.

The second project, the Building Momentum for Change Leadership Network, will create roundtables of diverse leaders in two California counties (to be determined) that will work together to identify common local policy priorities for sustaining a healthy food system. This project will be carried out by Ag Innovations, a non-profit organization that operates a similar program in Ventura County.

The third project, the Sustainable Food System Partnership, will work to build sustainable food systems leadership by educating policymakers and engaging community leaders from various sectors around key policy issues. The project will build the infrastructure and leadership for sustainable food systems policy making in the state. This project will be carried out by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

The ROC Fund is advised by the Roots of Change (ROC) Council, an advisory board of leading experts on food systems and agriculture: David Brubaker, Leonard Diggs, Paul Dolan, Ann Evans, Stephen Gliessman, Joan Gussow, Desmond Jolly, Jose Montenegro, Richard Rominger, Alice Waters, and Lawrence Yee.

The contributing foundations to the ROC Fund are: the Arkay Foundation, Columbia Foundation, Gaia Fund, Fred Gellert Family Foundation, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, Homeland Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the William Zimmerman Foundation.

The ROC Fund is a project of the Trust for Conservation Innovation (TCI) in San Francisco (www.trustforconservationinnovation.org).

For more information visit www.ROCFund.org.