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 [email protected].  Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.  You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find access our trusted, practical sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.  Learn about NCAT’s other cutting-edge sustainable agriculture programs.