The Missing Middle: How to Scale Bold Food Solutions

A Regenerative Case Study: How Caney Fork Farms Is Building the Model

Asher Wright, Farm Director at Caney Fork Farms, joins us to explore how regenerative agriculture is being tested—and proven—in real time in rural Tennessee. Backed by Vice President Al Gore and rooted in decades of soil health practice, Caney Fork Farms offers a living model for climate-smart, community-driven food systems. Asher shares the realities of building a financially viable regenerative farm: from sliding-scale CSA shares and pasture-raised meats to new grain cleaning infrastructure and public-private insurance barriers. We discuss what it takes to scale regeneration—not just in practice, but in economics, labor, and policy.

The Long Game: Why Food Systems Need Patient Capital

Peter Bodenheimer, Venture Partner at PeakBridge, joins us to unpack the realities of investing in food tech—from early-stage innovation to growth-stage execution. Drawing on decades of experience across startups, accelerators, and venture capital, he explores what makes food fundamentally different from other investment categories—and why it demands a longer, more strategic view. We talk about the hidden risks of inflated valuations, the tension between capital and capacity, and why the most scalable solutions are often the least sexy. Peter also shares how PeakBridge is backing B2B innovations that quietly power the food system—and what it really takes to move from novelty to necessity.This is a conversation about timelines, tradeoffs, and why transforming our food system means playing the long game.

The Missing Middle: How to Scale Bold Food Solutions

Christine Gould, founder of GIGA and Thought For Food, joins us to explore the “missing middle” in food innovation—the critical gap between bold ideas and the capital, partnerships, and infrastructure needed to scale them. She shares how GIGA helps startups, corporations, and investors move beyond “innovation theater” to drive real, systems-level impact. This is a conversation about rethinking risk, unlocking scale, and building the connective tissue that makes food system transformation possible.

Rethinking Ripeness: A Fresh Take on Food Waste

Matthew Aronson, Chief Revenue Officer at Verdant Technologies, joins us to share how extending the life of fresh produce can reduce waste, improve supply chains, and deliver more nourishment to more people. He breaks down the science behind Verdant’s shelf-life-extending innovation, why broccoli ships with ice (and why it shouldn't), and how risk aversion slows food systems progress. This is a conversation about the real-world challenges of scaling agricultural tech—and the potential to change the way fresh food moves around the world.

Bonus Episode: Why Food Waste Reduction is Climate Action

Former Washington Governor Jay Inslee shares why food waste reduction is one of the cheapest and most powerful tools we have to fight climate change. He offers a vision of optimism, where state-level leadership, public-private collaboration, and community action can drive real systems change—even in the absence of federal momentum.