Restore California, A Dedicated BIPOC Fund to Implement Regenerative Agriculture Practices
| Bioregion | Greater California (NA31) |
| Category | Regenerative Agriculture Our project categories represent one of three core solutions pathways to solving climate change. Energy Transition focuses on renewable energy access and energy efficiency. Nature Conservation includes wildlife habitat protection and ecosystem restoration, as well as Indigenous land rights. Regenerative Agriculture supports farmers, ranchers, and community agriculture. |
| Realm | Northern America The Project Marketplace is organized by the major terrestrial realms divided into 14 biogeographical regions – N. America, Subarctic America, C. America, S. America, Afrotropics, Indomalaya, Australasia, Oceania, Antarctica, and the Palearctic realm, which coincides with Eurasia and is divided into Subarctic, Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern regions. |
| Status | active Seed indicates an early stage project that needs some level of support to develop into a larger funding proposal. Active indicates any project that needs core programmatic funding. Urgent indicates a short-term project initiated in response to a natural disaster or other impending risk. |
| Partner | Zero Foodprint |
One Earth’s Project Marketplace funds on-the-ground climate solutions that are key to solving the climate crisis through three pillars of collective action — renewable energy, nature conservation, and regenerative agriculture.
California is facing increasing drought and wildfire, but the state is also leading the way on carbon farming. Zero Foodprint’s connections with regional governments and conservation networks make it possible for citizens to shift acres directly and systematically to regenerative agriculture by building a revolving fund which will be replenished by participating businesses. Establishing a dedicated fund for historically underserved applicants is a way to advance climate justice within this broader movement to scale regenerative agriculture in California.
As the 2020 James Beard Humanitarian of the Year and winner of the 2019 Basque Culinary World Prize, Zero Foodprint (ZFP) is in a unique position to use its influence to connect both the massive food industry and millions of consumers per day to systemic change through collaboration with the California Dept of Food and Agriculture and other state agencies. ZFP has already completed proof of concept and is now scaling the Restore CA program. Leading scientists and advocates in the carbon farming world are on its Board of Directors and believe in the scalability of this Table to Farm approach.
Image credit: Courtesy of Zero Foodprint
This project is to establish a dedicated grant funding pool for underserved applicants to implement regenerative practices. ZFP's overall goal is to establish a funding engine with a multiplier effect -- doubling in size every two years and ensuring access and equity while building soil wealth. A contribution of $20k typically funds a carbon farming project sequestering 500 tons of carbon. Since 2020, ZFP has funded 31 projects with a modeled carbon benefit of removing 18,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.
ZFP works with the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) and the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) among others to implement carbon farming projects. Since 2020, ZFP has funded 31 projects that are currently in progress, with dozens of additional "shovel ready" projects awaiting funding.
One such project is located in San Juan Bautista, a small farming community located about twenty miles east of the Pacific Ocean. Maria Reyes, from Narci Organic Farms, has been farming strawberries here for about 30 years, but about six years ago, she struck out on her own and decided to learn more about improving her soil. Maria has already put compost on two of her acres and she has seen how it helped her plants grow--but she couldn’t afford compost for the rest of her farm until now.
Image credit: Courtesy of Zero Foodprint
Rufino Ventura agreed that compost is really helpful, and his Restore grant would allow him to cover all seven acres at Ventura Organics, his mixed-vegetable operation. Rufino remarked that climate change has made it harder to farm in the area because it’s both hotter and drier than it used to be. There was snow and rain when he arrived in 1996, but he hasn’t seen snow in the mountains since 2000. Rufino Ventura shared his concern about the blue valve water getting more expensive and being less available as a result of climate change.
ZeroFoodprint has already made grants that have enabled 18,100 tons of modeled carbon sequestration. This is estimated by the technical assistance providers using COMET for 35 NRCS healthy soil practices and Carbon Cycle Institute estimates for the 36th: 1/4" compost applications to grazed grassland. Due to the unique landscape and history of each plot of land, each grant varies in cost of accomplishing carbon sequestration. Some landscapes are more difficult to apply compost to or need more replenishment of healthy soils. When combined, these methods of carbon sequestration can be roughly averaged out to a cost of $40 per ton of Carbon.
Image credit: Courtesy of Zero Foodprint
The beneficiaries of this dedicated Resolve fund are BIPOC and underserved producers who are standing by to implement regenerative practices. As more projects occur in a region, citizens experience the benefits of resilience, nutrient density, water conservation, and prosperity. Local conservation networks also benefit as we increase their capacity and raise their cultural and political profile as facilitators of primary climate solutions.
Zero Foodprint’s work is informed by public-private collaborations with California state agencies like the CA Dept of Food and Ag and the CA Air Resources Board, as well as regional governments like San Mateo County and Sonoma County. ZFP is generating additional funding beyond federal or regional projects to scale regenerative agriculture; funding beyond regulatory will and carbon markets. Zero Foodprint is establishing these frameworks to improve the grid of farming, whether it is $5/month on a trash bill to scale up composting, or a business adding a 1% fee for regenerative practice implementation. Fundamentally, the work is to enable citizens to take effective collective action.
Zero Foodprint’s Restore California project will provide grants to Indigenous and underserved growers by creating a dedicated BIPOC funding pool which would in turn create momentum to close the fiscal and nutrient loops to connect citizens to food production through conservation networks, policy makers, and actual projects on the ground. ZFP would be able to conduct a targeted Request for Proposals and ensure that climate justice is central in their work.