Denver, CO – The Colorado Restaurant Association (CRA) is pleased to announce its new community partnership with Zero Foodprint, the award-winning, California-based nonprofit organization dedicated to mobilizing the food world around agricultural climate solutions.
Coloradans care about where their food comes from and how it’s grown, and that is particularly true of Colorado restaurant operators. The CRA is delighted to join the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the Alliance Center, MAD Agriculture, Boulder County, and more than 30 CRA restaurant members who work with Zero Foodprint to advance regenerative agriculture in Colorado, and who have already supported climate-beneficial projects on 11 Centennial State farms since 2021.
Through Zero Foodprint’s Restore Colorado program, local restaurants, food businesses, and corporate and philanthropic donors work with farmers and ranchers across the Centennial State to advance soil health practices, through the planting of cover crops, composting, rotational grazing, and more. The goal of the program is to raise $5 million per year by 2025, which will be reinvested in Colorado food production.
Regenerative agriculture improves soil health, water quality and retention, and the nutrient value of the food grown through these practices, while removing emissions from the atmosphere. As Colorado continues to experience severe drought, intense precipitation, and year-round wildfires, actionable partnerships between consumers, producers, and culinary organizations and businesses will be critical to the future of our food systems – and Colorado’s restaurant and foodservice industry.
The CRA is informing its statewide restaurant and food vendor membership of this new partnership to help spread the word about the vital work that Zero Foodprint has undertaken in our state. “It’s a win-win partnership,” says Sonia Riggs, President and CEO of the CRA. “Colorado restaurants can opt in at their discretion as Zero Foodprint members, contributing 1% of net sales to Restore Colorado, thereby taking meaningful steps to combat climate change and maximizing their competitive advantage for the 88% of consumers that are demanding climate-smart practices from the businesses they support. Meanwhile, the CRA is happy to celebrate Zero Foodprint as a community partner for its work improving local agriculture, which will benefit our farmers, ranchers, and restaurant industry in the years to come.”
You can learn more about Zero Foodprint’s work in Colorado at RestoreColorado.org, at corestaurant.org/marketplace, or by registering for the CRA’s upcoming webinar on Wednesday, July 20 at 11 a.m. MT, entitled “Fight Climate Change at Your Restaurant with Zero Foodprint.”
Press Contact:
Denise Mickelsen, Communication Director
dmickelsen@corestaurant.org
646-373-5005 cell
