FSF | United States

FSF is dedicated to creating a malnutrition-free world where sustainable food systems ensure affordable, nutritious food for all. Leveraging decades of retail and humanitarian food access experience, our team is embarking on a mission to ensure that communities across the country have the access they need to fresh, affordable food supported by economically sustainable institutions that enhance continuity of operation in all communities.

To achieve this, FSF is pursuing a three-pronged approach to address the urgent need across the United States:

1) Improving Operations for Small Grocers: FSF will leverage its technical capacity to work directly with small grocers in underserved communities, enhancing operations and increasing revenue while reducing shrinkage.

2) Launching the Grocery Innovation Network: Through strategic partnerships and advisors, FSF will facilitate connections between successful grocery operators and executives, enabling knowledge-sharing and collaboration. This network will empower small operators with expertise and resources they may not otherwise access.

3) Pioneering Innovative Grocery Formats: FSF recognizes that new grocery retailing models may be needed in some communities. We will identify successful formats, partner with operators, governments, and local advocates, and pilot, scale, and transfer knowledge of innovative and economically sustainable grocery concepts tailored to underserved communities.

The Food, Nutrition and Health Investor Coalition (FNHIC) was established to convene a syndicate of diverse investment companies around shared interest in the connection between agri-food systems innovations and human health. In connection with the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, and established by investors for investors, the FHNIC connects agtech, foodtech, healthcare, biotech, pharma, and generalist firms and executives for meaningful exchange. We see this as just the start of a long-term, high-potential journey to realize the benefits of greater exchange between food and health innovation. FNHIC functions as a membership organization with 4 main pillars of activity:

1) Grow: expand the depth and breadth of our membership base to 50 members and $10bn in relevant AUM by 2023.

2) Connect: maintain a connected platform for membership by leveraging various communication channels to facilitate multi-directional knowledge sharing and value-addition.

3) Add Value: generate value-added opportunities for members including in-person events, thought-provoking webinars, thematic pitch sessions and deals reports, and a curated network of vetted technical experts.

4) Illuminate Impact: work towards collective impact measurement and management tools to transparently evaluate and highlight businesses impact on nutrition and health through food.

For more information, please visit the FNHIC website.

Click here to access our latest FNHIC deal flow report.

Black and Latinx entrepreneurs are starting businesses at an astounding rate but many struggle to scale due to disproportionate lack of funding and systemic barriers.

To bridge this gap, FSF launched the Accelerating Good Food Initiative - a collaborative platform dedicated to advancing positive change in the food systems industry. Our initiative brings together food and agriculture-focused accelerators, incubators, investors, and entrepreneurs to create a supportive ecosystem that addresses resource gaps, fosters collaboration, and empowers founders.

We particularly focus on supporting BIPOC founders, companies increasing access to nutritious food, and ventures expanding into historically underserved markets. Through our collective efforts, we aim to accelerate the transformation of the food systems industry, creating a more sustainable, equitable, and thriving future.

The Accelerating Good Food Initiative’s mission is twofold:

1) We aim to unite food and agriculture-focused accelerators and incubators, forging a collaborative community to identify and address resource gaps faced by BIPOC founders and companies dedicated to increasing access to nutritious food. Together, we strive to expand into historically underserved markets within the food systems industry. By pooling our collective expertise and networks, we can create meaningful change.

2) We aim to establish a comprehensive resource space, empowering founders to easily navigate funding opportunities and connect with organizations that support their growth. Through this initiative, we are dedicated to fostering a more equitable and thriving food ecosystem for all.

At FSF, our commitment to creating a supportive and enabling environment for increased access to nutritious food extends across all our programs. We actively collaborate with consumers, entrepreneurs, and funders to identify and address public policy hurdles, seeking effective policies that can be replicated for broader impact.

A notable example of this work emerged through our partnership with Chicago food system companies, where we identified a critical public policy gap further exacerbated by the challenges of COVID-19. Responding to this, FSF joined forces with esteemed organizations like the Harvard Food and Law Policy Clinic, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and Hunger Free America. Together, we crafted and introduced legislation aimed at expanding the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot. The proposed bill sought to broaden the pilot program to include new retailers, thereby empowering businesses and consumers to access SNAP benefits in a safe and efficient manner. The legislation, championed by Senator Durbin, had a significant impact as components of the bill were eventually incorporated into the American Rescue Plan. This resulted in more businesses being able to accept SNAP for online purchases, thus increasing access to groceries for consumers in need.

In addition to our advocacy efforts, FSF regularly convenes experts from various sectors to engage in constructive dialogues around policy hurdles and potential solutions. For instance, we recently hosted a webinar focused on tackling food insecurity and food waste through food donation, gathering insightful perspectives and ideas from experts in the field.

Ahead of the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September 2022, FSF launched a national conversation series - Good Food Dialogues - where community leaders, advocates, and people with lived experiences of hunger could share their perspectives and policy solutions for ending hunger, improving nutrition outcomes, and reducing diet-related disease.

The policy recommendations captured through this series were summarized into a report FSF released to the public and submitted to the Biden Administration to inform both the Conference and the renewed national food policy strategy.

Today, the Good Food Dialogues platform serves as both a repository for the recommendations that resulted from the Conference and a tool for national stakeholders to further collaborate and mobilize around hunger, nutrition, and health policy actions.