Food Systems for the Future

A diversity of solutions is needed to transform our food systems for planetary and human health. We’ve partnered with Environmental Defense Fund to convene trust-building sessions with stakeholders, across complementary protein and conventional meat value chains, to enlist a coalition of the willing for a lower methane food system that ensures access to affordable, nutritious foods. We’ve synthesized the learnings and common ground from this program here.

We also convened these diverse stakeholders at Climate Week in New York City, the Meat Institute’s Protein PACT Summit in Austin, the Borlaug Dialogue World Food Prize in Des Moines, and COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan., Through this process, we’ve generated trust as an unbiased, third party and brokered a growing network of willing stakeholders for collective action. We also elevated our organizations as thought leader in driving great cohesion and collaborative action around a lower methane food system, and solidified our shared partnership, and identified amendable allies to build our movement going forward.

Globally, 3.1 billion people cannot afford a diverse, nutritious diet, highlighting the need for financial flows to farmers for both what and how they grow. After stakeholder discussions, it was agreed that a cost-effective MMRV system is essential to enable these flows. In partnership with BCG and industry stakeholders, we conducted a landscape analysis and generated a White Paper summarizing findings on key MMRV building blocks that require advancement. The paper identifies five actions that can drive catalytic change, address key challenges, and unlock private capital.

To address the challenge of food deserts, and with support from partners such as The Food Trust, Reinvestment Fund, Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and The Good Food Institute, we conducted a landscape study to identify retail solutions for providing affordable, nutritious food in underserved, low-income rural and urban communities across the U.S. The study's findings will be published in a report that highlights opportunities for innovation, collaboration, policy change, and funding in the grocery sector, with a focus on improving retail success and ensuring the affordability, availability, and accessibility of nutritious food in every community.

The report will be released at the Grocery Retail for All Summit, organized in partnership with José Andrés and The George Washington University.

FSF partnered with Borealis Gourmet Foods (BGF) for collaboration to develop social impact opportunities for BGF’s product line. FSF conducted research, identified market opportunities in education, defense, corrections, and food insecurity, and developed a go-to-market strategy, including support for the Department of Defense and USDA product inclusion. In the short term, FSF launched an outreach strategy for BGF's humanitarian product (Sup 9) and a donor/state funding strategy.

In partnership with Global Empowerment Mission, we worked with Borealis Foods Inc. to distribute 50,000 high-protein meals donated by Palmetto Gourmet Foods to those affected by the conflict in Ukraine, providing essential nutrition in this time of crisis. At FSF, we are committed to building resilient food systems to support communities during emergencies.

Through a series of webinars and speeches, including our session on "School Nutrition and Child Development," we highlighted the crucial link between access to healthy food and educational outcomes. A panel of child nutrition experts discussed the importance of school nutrition for child development and the need for targeted investments and programs to ensure all children receive the nutrition necessary to thrive academically, physically, and emotionally. The conversation also explored solutions to expand access to nutritious food, empower families with knowledge, and highlight federal policies that support improved nutrition outcomes for children.

See more of our advocacy work here.

MINAGRI and FSF, supported by Protix Ltd. and a local Rwandan agri-entrepreneur, assessed and are developing a large-scale insect-based protein manufacturing facility in Kigali. The facility will replace soy in feed formulations with a sustainable, locally sourced alternative. This initiative addresses feed supply and affordability while offering a circular solution by upcycling food waste into Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) protein. The partnership with the City of Kigali will reduce GHG emissions and provide farmers with organic fertilizer from the production waste, creating a sustainable ecosystem for agriculture.