Dear Colleagues,
I truly hope you are finding joy and fun this summer (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, winter for those of you south of the equator).
The state of the world, the barrage of dystopian headlines is emotionally exhausting. It feels almost cliche to highlight this to you because we’re all feeling it. I’ve been recovering from a miscarriage which has added an extra sting and sadness in my heart.
But, something extraordinary happened last week that gave me the break in the clouds that I needed that I wanted to pass along to you. I belly-laughed THREE times. Yes, three. That cry, snort, howl, fan your face, take a lap around the dinner table, take deep breaths, ab-searing, might just pee your pants type of belly laugh that nourishes the deepest part of the soul. You can’t force it, it comes without warning like a comet, which is what makes it so special. I don’t know if one belly laugh led to another, if my family was particularly cheeky last week or what, but man, it felt good and made me realize how long it’s been since I was able to access my humanity in that way.
I hope a belly laugh is in your immediate future and creates some more space for you to endure and thrive in these trying times. And if it does, feel free to send me a note so I can feel that sparkle with you.
While not as nourishing as a belly laugh, here are some updates and musings from the Littlefoot world.
Read on for what I’m most excited to share—a new Littlefoot Ventures Insights Report titled Beyond Energy: Why Food Systems Are the Next Essential Focus for Blended Finance and bonus Everything but the Carbon Sink podcast episodes recorded live at the ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit.
Eva Goulbourne
Founder & CEO, Littlefoot Ventures
The Pulse @ Littlefoot Ventures
Food systems are responsible for 34% of global GHG emissions but receive only a tiny fraction of climate finance—just 2.5% of public funds and 7% of philanthropic giving. This report argues that current funding levels are far too low to meet the scale and urgency of food systems transformation and makes the case for using blended finance to unlock more capital. By combining public, private, and philanthropic investments, blended finance can reduce investor risk, mobilize catalytic capital, and accelerate solutions that improve sustainability, resilience, and nutrition across global food systems.
🎙️ Podcasting live from the ReFED Summit
I had the pleasure of hosting 4 powerful live episodes of the Everything But the Carbon Sink podcast, recorded on-site at the ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit.
The episodes explored some of the biggest opportunities—and challenges—at the intersection of food, climate, and capital:
✅ How food waste solutions are scaling—and why partnerships, capital, and consumer action are key to what’s next with Sara Burnett (ReFED)
✅ How food systems investing is evolving to support the conscious consumer with Victor Friedberg (New Epoch Capital, FoodShot Global)
✅ Why state leadership and private capital are key to scaling food waste solutions with former Washington Governor Jay Inslee
✅ How nutrition and sustainability goals are converging in the food industry with Erin Boyd Kappelhof (Eat Well Global)
Check out the video recordings at the links above, or listen now wherever you get your podcasts.
Insights for Impact: Our Top Reads
Check out some of the articles that our team has been reading and loving lately.
Agriculture Robotics: Technologies Enabling the Fourth Agricultural Revolution
CREO
Agricultural robotics is emerging as a high-potential investment area, with over $2.6 billion in funding across 71 companies despite broader economic headwinds. The sector is driven by the need to address global farming challenges and enabled by increasingly affordable technologies, but still faces high barriers to commercialization. Companies that prioritize user-friendly deployment, early farmer collaboration, and flexible business models are best positioned for success—and now is a critical moment for strategic investors to step in and help scale these innovations.
Six Food System Takeaways From The ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’
Forbes
President Trump’s newly signed “One Big Beautiful Bill” enacts sweeping budget cuts that will reshape the U.S. food system—gutting SNAP and Medicaid, defunding nutrition education, and reversing climate-smart agriculture investments. While the bill expands subsidies for industrial farms and gives limited tax breaks to some tipped workers, it places new burdens on immigrants, small farmers, and rural hospitals. Despite these setbacks, grassroots efforts—from food co-op unionization to farm-to-school programs—continue to drive meaningful, community-led change.
Civil Eats’ Summer 2025 Food and Farming Book Guide
Civil Eats
Civil Eats’ Summer 2025 Book Guide features 23 thought-provoking new titles—from graphic memoirs to policy critiques—offering fresh insights and hopeful solutions for today’s food and farming challenges.
Op-ed: The Big Beautiful Bill Won’t Make America Healthy Again
Civil Eats
Despite its stated mission to improve public health, the Trump administration’s policies—including the One Big Beautiful Bill—directly contradict the goals of its own “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) platform. Massive cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, NIH research, and local food programs undermine nutrition, chemical safety, and chronic disease prevention efforts, particularly for children and vulnerable communities. Public health experts argue that without major policy shifts, the MAHA initiative risks becoming an empty promise.
The Tax Bill Will Upend Corporate Giving. Here’s How to Prepare
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
The newly passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” significantly alters the tax code and is expected to disrupt corporate giving, potentially reversing the record-high donations seen in 2024. Historically, tax reforms have led to major shifts in corporate philanthropy, and this bill is no exception. To adapt, companies and nonprofits will need to rethink their partnerships and develop new strategies to sustain charitable giving under the revised tax structure.
Events
- Sep 21-28 | New York, NY | New York Climate Week
- Oct 7-8 | Minneapolis, MN | Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum
- Oct 28-30 | San Jose, CA | GreenBiz Verge
- Nov 19-20 | Anaheim, CA | Sustainable Agriculture Summit