Grants & Partners
Over the years, Chipotle Mexican Grill has made significant contributions to help
fund initiatives that support sustainable agriculture, family farming, culinary
education, and innovation that promotes better food. This has included such beneficiaries
as Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, The Lunch Box, The Nature Conservancy, Niman
Ranch Scholarship, Culinary Institute of America, The Land Institute, Veggie U,
and FamilyFarmed.org. The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation was established to continue
the tradition of giving started by Chipotle.
Our grant making focuses on supporting family farms who are committed to sustainable
farming practices, organizations that are working to develop an affordable, sustainable
pasture-based system of animal production, and organizations promoting better food
through innovation or education. Our foundation accepts grants by invitation only,
but we are eager to hear about your organization and your project. You can contact
us here to share information.
PCC Farmland Trust
$40,000 | November 2012
PCC Farmland Trust secures, preserves and stewards threatened farmland in the Pacific
Northwest to ensure that generations of local farmers productively farm using sustainable,
organic methods. A grant from the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation is helping PCC to
create a model to preserve threatened farmland in a way that supports the long-term
viability of a local, organic food system that would otherwise be threatened by
continuing development of farmland.
La Semilla Food Center
$55,000 | November 2012
Working with young people and families, La Semilla Food Center is building a healthy,
self-reliant, fair and sustainable food system in the Paso del Norte region of Southern
New Mexico and El Paso, Texas — a colonia community as defined by the US Department
of Housing and Urban Development by virtue of its proximity to the border, lack
of basic services, and low-income populations. Through a grant from the Cultivate
Foundation, La Semilla is upgrading its farm infrastructure to include an outdoor
classroom and harvesting center, drip irrigation systems, and a cold storage unit
to store fresh produce, and adding to its staff so it is better able to administer
its programs.
National Immigrant Farming Initiative
$30,000 | November 2012
Rooted in diverse immigrant farmer experience, National Immigrant Farming Initiative
(NIFI) strengthens the capacity of immigrants to farm successfully and to advance
sustainable farming and food systems. With support from the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation,
NIFI will help immigrant and refugee farmers across the country smoothly transition
into independent agriculture operations and successful farm businesses.
Pennsylvania Horticulture Society
$55,000 | July 2012
Pennsylvania Horticulture Society is working to inspire and motivate people to improve
the quality of life and sense of community through gardening. A grant from the Chipotle
Cultivate Foundation is allowing for the growth of its City Harvest Program, which
is addressing Philadelphia's food desert problem by supporting local farms who offer
organically grown produce in high need neighborhoods and educating recipients of
donated food about issues so the can make more informed decisions when it comes
to the food they eat.
The Ecology Center
$65,000 | July 2012
With a commitment to educating, inspiring and involving the community in the stewardship
of Southern California farmland, The Ecology Center is helping people connect with
their food. In partnership with the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, The Ecology Center
is expanding its Food Lab, which features three distinct programs, including an
on-site food shed experience, farm-to-fork cooking classes for primary school children,
and its Grow Your Own! program to provide resources and gardening expertise and
materials to local schools.
FarmAid.org
$250,000 | October 2011
Chipotle's Boorito Halloween fundraiser challenged customers to dress in a costume
inspired by the family farm to raise awareness about the struggles facing many of
these farms in the midst of an increasingly industrialized agriculture sector. Those
who did were rewarded with a $2 burrito, order of tacos, burrito bowl or salad with
the proceeds benefiting the Cultivate Foundation. We contributed $250,000 from this
program to support Farm Aid, an organization whose mission is to build a vibrant,
family farm-centered system of agriculture in America.
FamilyFarmed.org
$96,000 | May 2011
Chipotle's campaign in 2011 centered around celebrating its use of the best ingredients
that it can find. To draw attention to this fact, the company started wrapping its
burritos in gold foil as opposed to the traditional silver. It also held an online
contest entitled "Wrap What You Love," which encouraged the public to wrap in gold
anything they love as much as Chipotle loves its ingredients. The public could then
vote on these items, with each vote triggering a donation to FamilyFarmed.org, a
non-profit organization that helps small family farmers find markets for their products.
Nature Conservancy
$100,000 | April 2011
The Nature Conservancy focused its efforts on Earth Day 2011 through a campaign
called Picnic for the Planet, which encouraged the public to have outdoor picnics
and eat sustainably. Chipotle supported this effort with its Student Brand Managers
on campuses across the country and by hosting picnics at various Chipotle restaurants.
Additionally, Chipotle donated $100,000 to help promote sustainable agriculture
and the conservation of farmland and aquifers.
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
$1,000,000 | October 2010
Traditionally, Chipotle’s annual Halloween promotion gave customers a free entrée
when they visited a Chipotle restaurant dressed like a foil-wrapped burrito. But
in 2010, Chipotle partnered with Jamie’s Food Revolution to take the event in a
new direction and created Boorito 2010: The Horrors of Processed Food. Customers
were instead encouraged to dress like horrifying processed food products and rewarded
with a $2 entrée with the proceeds going to the Food Revolution. In addition to
raising awareness about the amount of processed food in our society (and generating
some memorable costumes for an online contest), the event raised $1 Million for
the Food Revolution to support their efforts to get better food into schools and
encourage more home cooking.