Bumbleroot Foods

Student: Jill Gruskowski, 2021-2022

This year, I’ll be working with Bumbleroot Foods to help better understand how human health has been impacted by nutrient depletion in the soil. Our food system has incorrectly utilized practices like tilling and pesticides that have stripped our environment of nutrients and our diets, too. I will focus on how restorative agricultural practices create more nutrient dense soil that nourish ourselves and the environment. I will help Bumbleroot Foods design ways to share these insights with their consumers and partners, and identify restorative ingredient suppliers that will secure a future for Bumbleroot’s supply chain. As part of my capstone project with Bumbleroot Foods, I will also be assessing packaging options for their existing (and future!) product lines. According to the EPA, “containers and packaging contribute over 23% of material reaching landfills in the US” (epa.gov). Bumbleroot Foods wants to set the tone for other brands to package their products for the benefit of our environment. Through research and conversations with consumers, suppliers, and recycling facilities, I will determine the most effectively sustainable option for Bumbleroot Food’s product packaging.