Vodka to veggies: Tito's distillery brings fresh produce to its employees

On the outskirts of Austin, Texas, Tito's distillery produces vodka to be sold worldwide. But for its employees working or living in a food desert, the company wanted to provide something else: fresh, free produce. So in 2017, they built a farm on the property that would eventually inspire community gardens across the country.

By making access to healthy food a priority at the distillery, Tito's not only saved their employees money and time , but they added to their employee wellness benefits. To help them get started, they brought in a regenerative farmer and, after overcoming a steep learning curve, succeeded in building what is now home to over 25 varieties of fruits and vegetables that employees can eat at work and take home to their families.

"We're vodka producers, not farmers, so we had to learn a lot," says Amy Lukken, chief joyologist at Tito's. "We built 74 raised concrete beds and 16 hoop houses after that. We've got an onsite soil lab where we're able to test everything and play around with it, and we're learning everyday, which has been fun. We have seven full-time farmers — Tito's employees — who grow the food."

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As many employees live in or near food deserts — defined by the USDA as areas where people do not have easy access to affordable or quality food — Tito's wanted to ensure the garden impacted as many people as possible. Workers were taught different ways in which to prepare the produce they were choosing. 

"We realized the population we're serving is not used to all the fresh fruits and vegetables, so we hired organic chefs in our cafeteria at our commissary to help cook from our garden," says Lukken. "If there is any way that companies could tap into good, clean, fresh foods, not just for their employees but for the employees' families, that's critical. It's nice for companies to care for their employees not only when they're on-site; we care about what happens to them outside of work."

To further that mission, Tito's also offers a variety of other lifestyle benefits, like providing an allotted amount of money to pursue an area of interest — anything from fly fishing to a cooking class, says Lukken.   

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Inspired by the quick success of their distillery garden, Tito's also launched its "Love, Tito's" Block to Block garden and farm program. Now with over 100 projects in more than 35 cities such as Denver, the Bronx, Newark and Detroit, the goal of bringing people together through food and gardening has expanded to other communities that may otherwise not have it, says Lukken.

"We just wanted to build a little garden for our employees, but with all the benefits we said, 'We've got to take this show on the road,''' she says. "We partner with nonprofits that are in the garden space and then our sales reps in those towns will either bring their distributor friends or their retail accounts to come and help." 

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Lukken says she has noticed how much employees enjoy coming together over food, and urges employers to think about how offerings like this can play a role in bringing together their workforce.

"As employers, we're responsible for the wellness and happiness of our employees," she says. "If we're going to spend 70% of our day [at work], we don't want them just clocking in and clocking out  — we care about their health, we want them to be [with us] a long time; we love them."