The non-profit Soil Health Academy (SHA) announced today that it has launched a web-based platform to connect its regenerative farming and ranching graduates with a growing base of consumers, food processors and retailers interested in purchasing regeneratively grown products.
“The ‘Shop Regen Foods’ platform will allow consumers and others to search by location, by pasture-raised products available and by delivery and shipping options,’” said SHA President Dawn Breitkreutz. “And because an increasing number of producers are entering the regeneratively grown space, shoppers will know that the farmers and ranchers featured on our platform are producers who have attended SHA’s three-day, on-farm schools—producers who are committed to continuous soil health improvement through their regenerative ag journey.”
Breitkreutz said that while SHA does not verify the practices used on the featured farms and ranches, the platform provides links to the websites of the participating producers so consumers can research on their own to learn what soil health principles and practices are being utilized in the production of the food they’re interested in purchasing.
“This platform provides a way to connect consumers with regeneratively grown products and it allows consumers to learn more about the farm families growing their food,” she said. “I believe the more consumers learn about the soil health principles and practices SHA graduates are using, the more they’ll value the products they’re purchasing and appreciate the added connection with the farm families producing those products.”
Breitkreutz said consumer interest in purchasing food grown in ways that protect the environment and enable ecosystem diversity has been steadily growing, boosted by the popularity of the Netflix documentary, “Kiss the Ground,” released earlier this year. The movie, narrated by Woody Harrelson, highlighted the many benefits of soil health-focused regenerative agriculture, including improved nutrition.
“We know from experience that foods grown using soil health principles are more flavorful, which is something we all value,” she said. “And increasingly, research is pointing to the health benefits of consuming pasture-raised, nutrient-dense protein products.”
For SHA’s graduates, Breitkreutz said the platform provides another marketing venue to help regenerative family farms improve their profitability.
“Many of our graduates are already doing a great job of marketing their regeneratively grown products to local markets,” she said. “’Shop Regen Foods’ is another ‘store front’ for our graduates to expand their direct-to-consumer sales and to potentially connect with food processors and retailers interested in sourcing regeneratively grown products.”
