Vanguard Renewables Launches Farm Powered Sustainability Heroes Program New England Natural Bakers, Fancypants Baking Co., and Sloop Brewing Co. Sign as Founding Members

Boston, MA  – September 28, 2022 – Food and beverage industry leaders from New England are joining Vanguard Renewables to launch the Farm Powered Sustainability Heroes. The program aims to collaborate on eliminating food waste from landfills by recycling it into renewable energy on regional dairy farms via Farm Powered® anaerobic digestion. New England Natural Bakers, Fancypants Baking Co., and Sloop Brewing Co. are founding members committed to diverting food waste, fighting climate change, and helping support dairy farmers across the region.   zzubreebym

The regional FPSH program is modeled after the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance, launched by founding members Starbucks, Unilever, Dairy Farmers of America, and Vanguard Renewables to tackle food waste generated by multi-regional food and beverage manufacturers. That movement now includes more than 15 national food industry leaders.

“The Alliance was founded to bring large food and beverage manufacturers together to share ideas and work towards a joint goal of eliminating food waste and repurposing that into something good for our planet – renewable energy,” stated Neil H. Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Vanguard Renewables. “We quickly learned that smaller regional food and beverage manufacturers desired the same opportunities to share ideas and challenges with their peers.  It’s tremendous to see the group come together to work towards waste reduction and ESG goals.”

The Farm Powered Sustainability Heroes program is a pre-competitive collaboration to share best practices to the benefit of the environment. 

New England Natural Bakers is a leader in the production of natural, organic granola products including their latest introduction, TRUNOLA®. Located in Greenfield, Massachusetts, the employee-owned company markets its products to consumers in conventional pouches and has an extensive assortment of bulk offerings. They’ve been an active contributor to environmental and social improvement initiatives since 1977.

“Sustainability is at the core of everything we do, and I’m proud to be a founding member of the Farm Powered Sustainability Heroes program,” stated Chuck Marble, President and Chief Executive Officer, New England Natural Bakers. “Recycling our inedible food waste from the manufacturing process into renewable energy is one of the strategies we employ to lower our greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change which is incredibly important to our company and our customers.”

Fancypants Baking Co. in Walpole, MA, is a leader in the baked goods industry and its products are peanut and tree nut free. The company is committed to mindfully sourcing all its clean label ingredients, upcycling ingredients for its products, donating finished products, recycling its food waste into renewable energy, and using recycled packaging. Fancypants is so committed to decarbonization and supporting the clean energy movement that its packaging now features the “Farm Powered” logo, helping to amplify its sustainability goals.

“Joining the Farm Powered Sustainability Heroes program is a natural extension of our mission to reduce our impact on the environment by recycling food waste and upcycling other grains to make our cookies and other baked goods,” shared Maura Duggan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Fancypants Baking Co. “It’s important to us to join with like-minded industry leaders to share ideas and solutions to how we are each tackling our ESG goals so that we can do the most to protect our planet.”

Since its launch in 2011, East Fishkill, New York’s Sloop Brewing Co. has continued to elevate the craft beer industry with its limited-release cans and a mission of sustainably bringing together upstate New York agriculture and industry. Named after the ships that once carried cargo and passengers up and down the Hudson River, Sloop is changing the craft brewing game in the Hudson Valley and the upstate New York region.

“With our location in the Hudson River Watershed, we’re mindful of how we discard the waste from our brewing process,” stated Adam Watson, President and Cofounder, Sloop Brewing Co. “Our spent grain already goes to local farms, and we are thrilled to have a closed loop solution for the rest of our organic waste. By diverting it from landfills and wastewater treatment facilities to one of Vanguard’s Farm Powered anaerobic digesters, we are helping to create renewable energy, supporting local agriculture, keeping our water clean, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions – making all of us at Sloop proud to join the Heroes program.”

As Vanguard Renewables expands across the country, more regional businesses will be added to the Heroes program so all businesses in the food and beverage industry, regardless of size, can be a part of the Farm Powered Movement to mitigate climate change.