Food for Climate League Rebrands as BITE, Taking a Bigger Slice of Food System Change

CHICAGO, IL – January 16, 2026 – The organization that has quietly helped steer menus at Google, Disneyland, and universities toward sustainability has a new name and a bolder mission. Food for Climate League, a nonprofit that has spent six years researching how to make climate-smart food choices mainstream, announced today its evolution into BITE: Building Impact Through Eaters.

The rebranding signals a significant strategic shift for the organization, moving from a primarily research-focused entity to a full-fledged solutions provider applying behavioral science at scale across the global food system. The new name encapsulates a core philosophy: that lasting environmental change comes not from policy or technology alone, but from understanding and influencing the daily decisions of eaters.

"When we started Food for Climate League six years ago, bringing food and climate into the same conversation felt radical," said Eve Turow-Paul, Founder and CEO of BITE. "To many people, those worlds were largely separate. Today, the question hasn't changed—how do we build a climate-smart food future that people actually want to eat in—but the work has grown into something much bigger."

From Research to Real-World Results

Founded in 2019, the organization initially dedicated itself to understanding the complex emotional, cultural, and psychological drivers behind food choices. This foundational research created a unique framework for understanding the gap between consumers' sustainable intentions and their actual actions. Now, as BITE, the organization is fully stepping into its role as an implementer, translating those insights into actionable strategies for some of the world's most influential companies and institutions.

BITE’s work is concentrated in three connected areas: ongoing research and testing, behavioral change and operational strategies, and narrative design. This integrated approach allows them to partner with foodservice operators like Sodexo and Compass Group, tech giants such as Google and YouTube, and cultural touchstones like the Disneyland Resort. By working with these titans of industry, BITE aims to empower culinary teams and content creators to become effective changemakers from within.

The organization’s impact is already measurable. In the past year, its strategies have been credited with increasing the selection of plant-forward meals on U.S. college campuses and successfully shifting consumer perceptions of sustainable aquatic foods.

The Science of Sustainable Menus

BITE’s methodology is not about restriction; it’s about attraction. The organization leverages principles from behavioral economics and psychology to make sustainable options more appealing, accessible, and desirable. A landmark pilot study conducted with Sodexo and the Better Food Foundation at Tulane, Lehigh, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) provides a clear example of this approach in action.

By simply making a plant-based dish the default option, the study found that the rate of students choosing the sustainable meal increased by an average of 58.3 percent. At universities that applied the strategy consistently, up to 81.5 percent of students opted for the plant-based choice. This subtle nudge, rooted in the behavioral principle of “default bias,” resulted in a significant 23.6 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from food service during the study period, all without limiting choice.

This success has informed Sodexo's broader strategy, which now includes a goal for 50 percent of its university menus to be plant-based by 2025. BITE’s work extends beyond plant-based alternatives. In collaboration with partners like the World Wildlife Fund and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, the organization has developed new narratives and menu descriptions to boost the appeal of sustainable aquatic foods, such as mussels, clams, and sea vegetables. By framing these options around flavor, health, and culinary craft, they tap into growing consumer demand for seafood that is both delicious and responsibly sourced.

"These are the kinds of solutions we're focused on scaling," Turow-Paul stated. "They're practical, culturally relevant, and rooted in how people actually make decisions about food."

A Vision for 100 Million Eaters

The rebranding to BITE coincides with the launch of an ambitious long-term vision: to reach 100 million people with climate-smart food solutions. The organization recognizes that direct intervention at every cafeteria and restaurant is impossible. Instead, its strategy for scale relies on dissemination and empowerment.

BITE plans to develop and distribute a suite of trainings, toolkits, curricula, and digital products. These resources are designed to equip chefs, foodservice operators, content creators, and media voices with proven behavioral and narrative strategies. This “train-the-trainer” model aims to create a multiplier effect, embedding sustainable practices within the industry's DNA. The approach is designed to be self-sustaining, fostering a network of advocates who can adapt and apply BITE’s principles in diverse, real-world food environments.

"BITE stands for Building Impact Through Eaters," Turow-Paul emphasized. "Because meaningful change doesn't start with technology or policy alone. It starts with understanding what motivates people—chefs, operators, creators, educators, institutions, and eaters—and building strategies rooted in that insight."

As BITE moves forward, its focus remains on creating an equitable, abundant, and delicious food system. By centering its work on the universal values of joy, identity, and culture, the organization aims to prove that a climate-smart future is not about what we lose, but about the delicious possibilities we can gain.