Organic, California-based wine producer, Bonterra Vineyards, has announced a new cause marketing partnership with national non-profit, Growing Power, to support a national movement towards urban farming for the diverse communities of the United States. Bonterra is kicking off the campaign with a $20,000 donation to urban farming organizations across the U.S. and hopes to raise an additional $80,000 in the Global Giving Challenge. Growing Power produces and delivers healthy food to low-income city dwellers and has entered into a year-long partnership with Bonterra.

"We're proud to partner with Growing Power as our goal is to not only raise funds for these urban farming organizations, but to also help engage people across the country in the urban farming movement so these local groups can grow and produce more food for their communities," said Bonterra brand director, John Tichenor.

There are certainly precedents for wine companies going green and organic–last month we reported on the latest sustainable winery rankings and earlier this year we sketched out the pricing conundrum for organic wines.

But what's innovative about the Bonterra campaign is its attempt to provoke a national dialogue about the process and ecosystem within which healthy foods get from farmlands to New York City tenements. The take-away message is "the idea that it takes more than farmers to get Good Food to the table," said Growing Power CEO, Will Allen. By galvanizing the American public in a giving campaign, people are forced to consider all the varying stakeholders involved in healthy food production, from corporations to non-profits to individual donors.

By Jenara Nerenberg | Source :: Fast Company