Restore Colorado

Restore CO teams up with farmers and ranchers across Colorado to restore our climate by changing how we grow food.

Regenerative agriculture improves the health of our soil so it can do what it was designed to do: retain water, nurture a resilient crop, impart nutrients to the food we eat, and remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Many farmers and ranchers want to transition to more regenerative agriculture, but change often requires hefty upfront costs.

That’s where you come in! Diners, chefs, and food businesses who believe great food can save the planet are coming together to collect small donations that ensure farmers have the resources they need to take on climate change. You support regenerative farming in Colorado each time you patronize our member businesses, and you can contribute to the fund directly via Zero Foodprint’s website.

Participating Businesses:

A1 Organics: EcoGro Compost
Annette (Aurora)
ASH’KARA (Boulder)
Atost Mesa
Bin 707 Foodbar (Grand Junction)
Book See Financial Group
Bruto (Denver)
Carboy Winery (Four Locations)
Denver Museum of Nature & Science (Denver)
DiFranco’s (Denver)

Participating Businesses:

Dry Storage (Boulder)
East Denver Food Hub (Denver)
Fruition (Denver)
GB Culinary (Longmont)
La Cocina de Luz (Telluride)
Nude Foods Market (Boulder)
Tavernetta (Denver, $1 from each Insalata Mista)
Roots (Broomfield)
River and Woods (Boulder)

Participating Businesses:

Serendipity Catering, Cafe & Coffee Bar (Denver)
Somebody People (Denver)
Scraps (Denver)
Subway (All Boulder Locations)
Sullivan Scrap Kitchen (Denver)
The Butcher & The Baker (Telluride)
Wompost (Aurora)
Whistling Boar (Longmont)
Wonder Press (Boulder, Denver)

Click here to learn more about membership or to enroll your business.

Scaling Restore CO with The Healthy Soils Challenge!

Zero Foodprint has been joined by the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) and The Alliance Center to launch the Healthy Soils Challenge! Our collective goal is to raise $5 million per year by 2025 for the fund. The money we raise in Colorado will be reinvested in Colorado food production–this is the start of a regenerative agriculture movement and we need your help!

As we continue to experience severe drought, intense precipitation, and year-round wildfires, we need to work together to scale systems-wide climate solutions. Zero Foodprint offers transformative solutions with a low lift and a BIG impact.

In partnership with:

Healthy Soils Launch Party sponsors:

Restore Colorado Grant Recipients

MCCAULEY FAMILY FARM

McCauley Family Farm is a regenerative whole-farm ecosystem dedicated to healing people and the planet with delicious food. They strive to connect the dots between consumers and crops, produce and people, and seeds and souls — and Restore Colorado helps them to do just that. Through Restore Colorado, McCauley Family Farm was able to apply 315 yards of compost.

ESOTERRA CULINARY

Esoterra Culinary is a small farm making a big impact. Ever tasted a puntarelle? How about agretti? Mark DeRespinis, Esoterra’s owner, specializes in growing unconventional vegetables for Colorado culinary innovators. That means when he chooses which crops to plant on his farm, he has to be just as creative as the chefs he grows for. Mark also wanted to get creative when considering alternative fertilizers, and that’s why he worked with Restore Colorado to substitute A1 Organics compost in his hay fields.

OLANDER FARMS

Olander Farms is a fifth-generation family farm that specializes in high-quality local grain and craft malt for the local beer and distilling industries. With funding from Restore Colorado, they were able to get compost spread over hundreds of acres of farmland. This practice, in addition to their use of cover crops in their rotation, will help the Olanders continue working toward their mission of having the least impact on our Earth to keep the land healthy for the next generation of their family’s farmers.

GRAMA GRASS & LIVESTOCK

Farmer Andy Breiter has a passion for working with animals and understanding the land. Grama Grass and Livestock aim to be a premier livestock and grass farm that improves degraded landscapes while providing high-quality meat for the community. Grama Grass and Livestock has a mobile grazing component that allows for animal integration throughout the county. An estimated 372 MT CO of carbon will be sequestered from this compost application.

FRONTLINE FARMING

The mission of Frontline Farming is to create greater equity across our food system on the Front Range of Colorado. They specifically seek to support and create greater leadership and access for women and people of color in our food systems. Restore Colorado provided a grant to these change agents to convert an unused area of their Sister Gardens into a perennial, educational, Aya garden. Their plan is to bring perennials, trees, shrubs, and compost into the designed compost beds. This summer, Restore Colorado has collaborated on three volunteer days to bring this vision to life.

LONG TABLE FARMSTEAD

Long Table Farmstead is a livestock operation based in Lyons, Colorado that raises sheep, pigs, and chickens on 20 beautiful acres of pastureland. Their Restore Colorado grant award funded compost application across 16 acres of dryland and irrigated pastures. This will help improve the fertility and forage of the soil at Longtable, which in turn will increase the quality of the forage that they feed their livestock.

SPEEDWELL FARM & GARDEN

Speedwell is a small-scale organic and regenerative vegetable farm focused on ethical land stewardship and growing high-quality produce. Speedwell was in need of funds to help build soil fertility at their new farm in Boulder, Colorado. The Restore Colorado grant went directly towards organic compost for their field crop production. This funding opportunity helped young farmers develop long-term soil fertility and propel Cody and Mel into their new farm future.

EMERALD GARDENS

Emerald Gardens is a microgreen farm based in Bennett, Colorado. The farm is one of multiple entities within the business ecosystem stewarded by co-founders David Demerling and Roberto Meza, who also run East Denver Food Hub. The grant that the farm received from Restore Colorado enabled them to spread compost and plant cover crops on the land surrounding their industrial greenhouse. This contributed to efforts to explore other regenerative practices on their land so that they can diversify operations beyond microgreens.

BOULDER VALLEY HONEY

Boulder Valley Honey is a commercial enterprise comprised of several apiaries spread across Boulder county. With their Restore Colorado grant, Boulder Valley Honey planted 500 woody plant species across their apiaries, to provide food and habitat for their own honeybees as well as native pollinators. Earthwork and compost application on each property was also supported through this project, rounding out a suite of practices that will help the beekeepers continue making delicious honey while regenerating pollinator habitats around the county.

DRYLANDS AGROECOLOGY RESEARCH

Drylands Agroecology Research (DAR) is an organization on a mission to restore the Earth and our communities through regenerative design. Their team is revitalizing several agricultural properties throughout Boulder County. Across DAR’s projects, the organization has planted thousands of trees and educated hundreds of community members on the use of Indigenous seeds, plants, and livestock practices. With their Restore Colorado grant funding, they were able to purchase and apply compost across 23 acres of the land they steward.

SWITCH GEARS FARM

Switch Gears Farm is a small-scale vegetable farm rooted in Longmont, Colorado. They received a Restore Colorado grant that enabled them to spread compost across their land, helping their team build the health of their soil in just their second season of operation. With this compost application–in addition to cover-cropping, the use of organic and untreated seeds, and not spraying their crops–Switch Gears is ensuring their ability to cultivate high-quality produce as they simultaneously build soil health over time

HONEY ROCK LANDING

A Certified Naturally Grown farm, Honey Rock Landing employs regenerative, organic practices to build soil, sequester carbon, and grow the tastiest, healthiest fruit, eggs, and honey. They recognize that these practices benefit their employees, visitors, consumers, and the planet. They’re especially known for their peaches which thrive thanks to their saline soils and the temperature fluctuations in the summer. They used their Restore CO grant to apply compost to their fruit trees and plant forage for their chickens.