Episode 273. Tootie’s Tempeh: Bringing Organic Plant-Based Proteins to Local Consumers and Institutions

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Chris Lent has a conversation with Sarah Speare of Tootie’s Tempeh in Biddeford, Maine.   

 NCAT and two other organizations – Health Care Without Harm and the Plant Forward Future Project – partnered to form a producer cohort in the Northeast to develop and market plant-based proteins to hospitals.

 

The project is funded by a USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant, and Sarah is part of the producer cohort. She and Chris talk about sourcing beans from organic farms, using worker-owned cooperatives as a business model, manufacturing tempeh, and marketing plant-based proteins to both consumers and hospitals.   

They also get into strategies for helping plant-based protein food companies thrive in the Northeast. 

Related ATTRA Resources: 

• Farm to Healthcare 
• Farm to Healthcare Tipsheet: Procuring Local Food, Improving Health 
• Scaling Up for Institutional Markets: Midwest Case Studies 

Other Resources: 

• Tootie’s Tempeh 
• Health Care Without Harm 
• USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program 

 Contact Chris Lent via email at chrisl@ncat.org.  

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