As a leading private funder of organic research in the US, Clif Bar has been gifting endowments to land-grant institutions since 2015. Tuskegee is the first HBCU to receive an endowment and the 5th recipient of the company’s $10m programme to boost organic research.
Since founding 30 years ago, Clif Bar has championed sustainable agriculture, specifically organic practices. The company started its transition to organic ingredients in 2003, and to-date, has crafted more than 1.4 billion tons of the good stuff into its Clif, Clif Kid and Luna brands.
“At Clif, our purpose is to redesign the business of food for the benefit of health, equity and Earth, and supporting Tuskegee’s work to make organic more accessible and equitable is a meaningful way to deliver on that promise,” said Roma McCaig, senior VP of Impact & Communications at Clif Bar & Company.
“We are committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion and are proud to support Tuskegee’s work that will help create a more inclusive future for organic farming.”
Strengthening the food system
Clif’s grant is being matched by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), a non-profit organisation formed in the 2014 Farm Bill that matches federal funding from Congress with private funding to address challenges in food and agriculture.
“Organic farming research can assist producers in implementing sustainable soil health management practices, increase resilience to climate change and strengthen our food systems,” said Dr LaKisha Odom, FFAR scientific programme director and Tuskegee alumna.
