The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently awarded IndieBio’s Re-Nuble (Food-X 02) a $4.6M grant as one of the awardees of the Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities. The USDA’s program says it aims to address the climate crisis by “expanding markets for America’s climate-smart commodities, leveraging the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production, and providing direct, meaningful benefits to production agriculture, including for small and underserved producers.”

Re-Nuble transforms food waste into plant-based technologies for both soil-based and chemical-free hydroponic cultivation. Re-Nuble won the grant with a project that focuses on turning on-site agricultural byproducts and unharvested residuals into regenerative and sustainable products, like fertilizer. This closed-loop agricultural method can address the water crisis in the Southwest by helping farmers earn revenue from nutrient systems previously thought to be unusable. 

Speaking on the recent grant, Re-Nuble founder and CEO Tinia Pina said: “Re-Nuble is pleased to see the USDA prioritize more resources for small and underserved producers, as we have often witnessed larger producers benefit from innovative solutions. . . . I think that it’s incredibly honorable for the USDA to offer a program that provides market, equipment, and monetary support that is also focused on maximizing scalability.”