Root Shoot Spirits has officially joined Zero Foodprint, joining a growing movement of businesses seeding the transition to regenerative agriculture. As the nonprofit’s newest official member, the sustainability-minded spirits makers at Root Shoot will donate 1% of all sales to Zero Foodprint to combat climate change and rally the food and beverage industry toward regenerative agriculture and climate smart practices.
Every bottle of Root Shoot Spirits, including Root Shoot Whiskey, which earned American Single Malt Whiskey of the Year at the London Spirits International Competition last month, is distilled just a few miles from where the raw materials were sown, grown and malted. The result is a uniquely hyper-local, sustainable supply-chain journey of only about 30 miles from field to bottle.
Olander Farms, Root Shoot Malting’s 5th generation family farm, has been awarded two separate grants from Zero Foodprint: the first one in 2022 for compost application on annual crops (barley, wheat, rye, and corn) and the second one in 2024 for nutrient management, crop rotation and reduced tillage on their entire acreage.
As a member of Zero Foodprint, Root Shoot commits to contributing 1% of sales of its spirits lineup to help Zero Foodprint provide similar grants. The grants support farmers and ranchers ready to make changes to their land designed to pull carbon out of the atmosphere and re-store it underground as healthy soil.
Since launching the grant program in 2020, Zero Foodprint has funded projects with a modeled carbon benefit of 200,000 CO2e. That’s the same as not burning over 22.5 million gallons of gasoline. Zero Foodprint was awarded the James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2020, for its work creating a path to climate action for restaurants, caterers, and other food and beverage businesses.
“We’ve worked with Zero Foodprint for years, and we’re thrilled to officially join forces with an organization that champions local supply chains and real change in agriculture,” says Root Shoot Farmer and Founder Todd Olander. “Our farm uses regenerative practices to grow the grain behind our award-winning whiskey—and that whiskey, in turn, helps fund the next generation of farmers. It’s a full-circle mission we’re proud to be part of.”
Additionally, Root Shoot Spirits will participate in Zero Foodprint’s upcoming Dirty Drinks campaign, during which they’ll donate additional proceeds from spirits sales to Zero Foodprint August 25–September 1.
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ABOUT ROOT SHOOT
Root Shoot Malting is a fifth-generation family farm and a first-generation craft malthouse producing responsibly-raised, caringly-crafted, high-quality malts. We believe farmers are stewards of the land and that responsible agriculture can support a better food and beverage industry. Located on the Olander family farm in Loveland, Colo., Root Shoot produces malts made from barley, wheat, rye, and corn and is working to protect farmland through its conservation easement with Colorado Open Lands. Find our craft malts online at rootshootmalting.com.
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