If there’s one thing we know here in Sonoma County, it’s that the very best food comes from the people in our communities who grow it, raise it, and shepherd the bounty to our tables. It not only defines our local identity, but embodies the ethos that good food is who we are. With the hypnotizing power of food media and the prevalence of amazing places to eat, it’s easy to take it for granted that eating this way and having access to such nourishing food is just how it’s supposed to be. And although it certainly IS how it’s supposed to be, the reality of producing that food is far more complex than the beautiful things we see on our plates, and that social media would suggest.
So what is good food? How is it made? In all the noise surrounding how we produce what we eat, Noah Munro and his business, Good Roots, are at the forefront of clearing up that sometimes garbled signal and making sense of what’s coming through the systems that feed us. Founded as a consultancy with a mission to improve the business acumen of small-to-mid-scale food producers, Good Roots has grown into a nationwide organization providing services to many of the links in the food chain. Their stated mission is to promote regenerative agriculture by assisting those businesses to thrive by building solid operational foundations. As it turns out, good food isn’t just what comes out of the ground when it’s grown in regenerative ways, it’s also (and quite significantly) about how that operation functions as an economic entity within the context of the local food shed.
What that means from the perspective of an organization like Good Roots, is clarity. It means being able to see the whole economic picture clearly, and institute business practices that support sound, value-driven growth. It means growing the foundation of something that can thrive, building the roots of an operation that can sustain itself, and in sustaining itself, can feed others. From business consulting, marketing, and accounting, Good Roots provides the support to small-to-mid-size food producers so that they can not only survive economically, but are able to do so in a way that continues to shape our food systems through regenerative practices and good values that translate into better food policy.
Hailing from the Northeast, Noah and his wife, who works in the wine business, moved to Sonoma County four years ago. Since he works remotely, and in a story all too familiar to us here at Keller, a community of coworkers was a missing piece of the puzzle that led him to seek out new workplace venues. In maybe one of the best ways we’ve heard to describe a big part of coworking’s appeal he says “it’s like water cooler time without the company politics.” He’s a regular player at our weekly Keller basketball games, and also utilizes the Masterminds series to continue growing not only Good Roots, but his own roots as well here in Petaluma.