diff --git a/gems/rake-support/lib/torquebox/deploy_utils.rb b/gems/rake-support/lib/torquebox/deploy_utils.rb
index <HASH>..<HASH> 100644
--- a/gems/rake-support/lib/torquebox/deploy_utils.rb
+++ b/gems/rake-support/lib/torquebox/deploy_utils.rb
@@ -189,6 +189,7 @@ module TorqueBox
         d = {}
         d['application'] = {}
         d['application']['root'] = root
+        d['environment'] = {}
         d['environment']['RACK_ENV'] = env.to_s if env
 
         if !context_path &&
Can't set RACK_ENV on a nil environment.