“Growing up as a young kid, there was no guarantee that we could get 3 meals in a day. I used to depend on the school meal. It was a challenge that many people are facing,” Greg Kimani, the CEO of City Shamba, says in the Food 2050 film, which premieres January 2026 in partnership with Media RED, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Food Tank. “If my neighbor cannot have food, we are not food secure.”

This belief reflects a broader cultural value rooted in Ubuntu, an Indigenous African philosophy of interconnectedness. 

“When I was growing up, sharing food was a common thing that we did. It’s about the value of Ubuntu, [meaning] ‘I am because we are.’ It’s the spirit of helping one another. It’s the spirit of sharing,” says Dr. Elizabeth Kimani-Murage, a Research Scientist at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC). 

“But the world is urbanizing, and we are losing that culture of Ubuntu,” says Dr. Kimani-Murage.

Nairobi’s population is projected to triple by 2050 to more than 10 million people. Historically, the city relied on rural communities for food, but those areas have increasingly urbanized themselves, reducing agricultural production. Dr. Kimani-Murage, who has conducted research on nutrition and food security among the urban poor for more than two decades, has seen firsthand how these shifts have deepened inequality. Today, she promotes agroecological urban farming across socioeconomic divides to “ensure that people can produce safe food for themselves and feed themselves with dignity.” 

In Nairobi, affordability—not availability—is often the core problem, according to Dr. Kimani-Murage. Because many residents cannot afford market prices, the food supply can exceed demand. “A lot of the food finds itself in the dump site, and people go to scavenge on that food,” either feeding it to their families or selling it to others, says Dr. Kimani-Murage.

City Shamba was founded to challenge the assumption that dense urban areas cannot produce food. The organization trains residents in vertical farming techniques to maximize productivity in limited spaces. It provides seedlings and soil, which are often difficult to access. Kimani’s team also prioritizes nutrient-rich Indigenous vegetables, helping households improve nutrition while reducing costs.

According to David Osogo, a Research Officer at APHRC, City Shamba shows that urban areas themselves can be part of the solution to food insecurity and malnutrition.

“Urban farming almost gives you instant results,” says Osogo. “We have seen communities in the informal settlement feed off their tiny kitchen gardens…school children eating lunch and eating hot meals that are directly from vegetables from the farms…chicken from the poultry farms within the schools.”

These community-led efforts are supported by Dr. Kimani-Murage’s vision, “A Place of Cool Waters”—the translation of the Indigenous name for Nairobi—which was named a Rockefeller Foundation Top Food System Visionary in 2020 and featured in the Food 2050 film. It provides grants to grassroots organizations including City Shamba that are rethinking food production and access in urban spaces. This work is also advancing what Dr. Kimani-Murage describes as a “right to food movement” in Kenya.

“It is important that people can take charge of what they’re eating,” says Dr. Kimani-Murage. “We really want to promote the spirit of Ubuntu, encouraging people to share any excess food…so that food is not just seen as a commodity, it is seen as a common good and a human right.”

Since the Food 2050 filming, the initiative has expanded to cities throughout Kenya and gained international attention: In 2023, King Charles III visited City Shamba’s facilities. But Dr. Kimani-Murage’s long-term vision has expanded beyond food—she sees climate action as critical to food systems transformation.

“We have embraced climate action as a key driver of this work,” says Dr. Kimani-Murage. “Food security and nutrition are very heavily impacted by climate change. By encouraging climate action, you are also promoting food security and optimal nutrition.”

The post Food 2050 Visionaries: Nourishing Nairobi with Ubuntu appeared first on Food Tank.

“My obligation in that farm is to the community and the environment,” says Dennehy. “Protecting the soil is investing in food security as far as I’m concerned.”

Dennehy began farming full-time in 1995, when many dairy farmers struggled to make ends meet due to volatile and low milk prices: “We were restricted with [European Union milk] quotas; we couldn’t expand, and it was a struggle to make a living.”

When milk quotas were lifted and the industry restructured, Dennehy and 16 other young farmers decided to form a discussion group to face those challenges together, covering everything from animal welfare and soil management to finance and labor. The group, which still meets the first Tuesday of every month nearly 30 years later, became a lifeline.

“The business of farming can be lonely, isolated,” Dennehy says. “It was more than a talking shop. The meetings are the backbone of everything we do on the farm…The biggest single support I got in my farming career was that group of farmers, and 30 years on, we’re still together.”

Dennehy says these farmers’ meetings often discuss the issue of succession, as many older farmers lack an heir to take over their farm. However, he feels optimistic as he sees younger people—many as young as 12 years old—coming to his farm to learn about the lifestyle, routine, and responsibility of farming. “They get a bit of passion for it,” he says, and some “go on and make farming a livelihood.”

Dennehy passes his knowledge of stewardship and sustainability on through this work. He recently planted a willow bed on the riverbank, which acts as a natural waste filtration system to protect water quality and the important salmon habitat. Under the European Innovation Partnership’s Farming for Water project, he planted 1,000 trees along the riverbank to further improve water quality and enhance soil health.

“The water is tested regularly, and I’m proud to say those nature-based solutions have resulted in cleaner water,” says Dennehy.

Dennehy also tests his soil annually for pH, nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, the most important ingredients for the farm to grow grass and maintain healthy soil. He has incorporated white clover into his pastures, which he says increases the grass yield and boosts milk production, allowing him to reduce his use of chemical nitrogen by 30 percent over the last three years.

For Dennehy, sustainability is a continuation of a long Irish tradition of care for land and community. This brings him hope for the future of Irish dairy.

“Since 1995, the dairy industry in Ireland has gone through a remarkable transformation,” he says. “And if we’re willing to adapt and learn, I see no reason why we cannot continue to grow…The world population is growing. And at the end of the day, the world needs farmers.”

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in lifting up family farmer stories, including Servais’, at Climate Week NYC: A Night of Storytelling Honoring Our Farmers. Watch her story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

The post Community Is Essential to Farmer Resilience in Ireland appeared first on Food Tank.

“People are having to get whatever they can on their budget, and unfortunately, what is cheapest right now is a lot of processed foods,” says Wilson.

The Sicáŋğu Lak̇óta, like other Indigenous communities throughout the United States, have seen their traditional food systems dismantled over generations due to land dispossession, mass slaughter of buffalo herds, and reliance on federal food programs. Wilson and other community leaders created the 7Gen plan, which was named a Rockefeller Foundation Top Food System Visionary in 2020, to help restore food sovereignty to their people. 

“Beginning with the mass slaughter of the buffalo, about US$2 trillion worth of wealth has been extracted from our people,” says Native Leader Wizipan Little Elk in the Food 2050 film, which premieres January 2026 in partnership with Media RED, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Food Tank. 

“Food and access to our treaty rations were used as a means of control. In order for us to regain our power, we have to regain our food.”

The 7Gen plan is named after the ancient concept of looking ahead seven generations, which is core to many Indigenous cultures. It serves as a guiding philosophy for decision-making, one that considers the impact on future generations and the long-term well-being of both people and land.

“Our 7Gen plan is how we see everything playing out in the next seven generations,” says Wilson. “How do we prepare for that? How does our food look? Where is it coming from?”

The Sicáŋğu Food Sovereignty Initiative, an integral part of the 7Gen project, plays a critical role in the local food system. Its regenerative buffalo ranch has grown from 50 to 1,100 heads since 2020. When federal SNAP benefits faced major cuts due to the government shutdown and new legislation in 2025, Wilson’s team was able to deliver 12,000 pounds of bison meat and 6,000 pounds of locally grown produce to the community.

>The initiative is also helping community members learn how to grow, produce, harvest, and prepare their own food. Its workforce development and educational programs support farmers, ranchers, aspiring entrepreneurs, and youth in building skills and creating livelihoods around food.

As a result of these efforts, Wilson says that his community is increasingly practicing food sovereignty.

“When I first started, [people couldn’t] really articulate what food sovereignty was or understand the importance of it. But now, people are seeing the urgency and that importance,” says Wilson. “More people are going out and harvesting their own food, foraging for traditional foods. More people are serving their own gardens, more people are having conversations around where their food comes from.”

Wilson sees the local food system as not only a source of nutrients but also a way to heal his community’s spirit. This starts with reframing how his neighbors think about and value food.

“Food is medicine, and so we’re really trying to change people’s mindsets and perspective around food and build that connection with food again,” says Wilson. “It’s really supposed to feed your soul, your emotional health, your spiritual health. That concept is what we call Wicozani. All-encompassing health.”

For Little Elk, 7Gen’s success is a story of hope for the broader, global food system.

“Our vision is to create a sustainable, regenerative, culturally appropriate food system for our people in the region by growing our own food, by embracing regenerative agricultural practices, by bringing buffalo back. Those are the kinds of solutions that the entire planet needs,” says Little Elk.

“And if we can do it here, in the third-poorest county in the entire United States, we can for sure do it anywhere in North America. And I believe that we can do it anywhere in the world.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

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The global food and agriculture landscape looks very different than it did this time last year.

In January, the Trump-Vance Administration acted quickly to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, cancelling life-saving food aid and health programs around the world.

In the following months, I have spent time during my travels to meet with farmers, researchers, and community leaders, beginning to understand what this all means for agricultural communities. What I’m hearing is alarming.

In Ethiopia, I spoke with an NGO leader called the impact “immediate and disastrous.” Their organization laid off nearly two dozen staff, canceled two major projects focused on women’s nutrition and healthy behaviors, and lost about US$1 million in funding.

In Guatemala, the organization CARE has had to lay off more than 20 staff and cut programs that helped women impacted by domestic violence. CARE staff members have also had to reduce the number of women’s farmers groups they were working with—and staff told me that the news hit the farmers very hard and they had a difficult time understanding why the U.S. would pull funding so abruptly.

The disruptions like these will cost human lives—they already are. Modeling from Boston University shows that funding cuts are already contributing to the deaths of close to 700,000 people, including more than 450,000 children, due to malnutrition and infectious diseases. By 2030, we may see as many as 14 million people die whose lives could have otherwise been saved, a study published in The Lancet reveals.

The cruelty doesn’t stop when you get to the U.S. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an estimated 15 million will lose health coverage by 2034 following the passage of the tax and spending bill this summer. And more than 3 million people are at risk of losing some or all of their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Crystal FitzSimons, President of the Food Research & Action Center calls these cuts “bad for families, bad for businesses, and bad for the economy as a whole.”

The ripple effects are likely to be as significant as FitzSimons suggests. One study from the George Washington University estimates that we may see 1 million jobs lost and a reduction totaling US$113 billion in states’ GDPs next year.

What’s happening now is only the beginning. We will not know the full consequences of these changes for years, even generations, to come.

What I do know is that we need new solutions, new ways of thinking and doing. Some friends and allies in this space have called this moment an opportunity. But I don’t see it that way. I want to be clear that we are adapting because we’re forced to.

Food Tank and the Global Food Institute at GW launched our “Growing Forward” series at the start of the year to spotlight the innovative solutions that will help us tackle the most pressing challenges in our food and agriculture systems. I always understood that they would be needed—I just couldn’t have predicted how urgent they would become.

The World Bank is demonstrating the power of new tools that will help us monitor and better respond to global hunger crises. The University of the District of Columbia is showing us how we can equip community leaders with the knowledge they need to scale urban agroecology to feed cities and build climate resilience. And medical professionals like Kofi Essel are illuminating the benefits we can unlock if we fully integrate food into our healthcare systems.

I’m also excited by organizations like the Food Security Leadership Council, launched this year to align American policy, science, and action to solve global hunger. “I don’t want this government to lose the partnerships that we’ve developed with other countries,” Fowler told me during a recent conversation. Protecting those relationships will be essential. 

And just last month at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Brazil, we saw several new initiatives announced, like the Food Waste Breakthrough. Led by the U.N. Environment Programme, new funds are being invested to unite governments, cities, and civil society to halve food waste by 2030. 

The uncertainty we have faced in the last 12 months is not going away, and if we’re going to be prepared for the future, these are the types of solutions we need. If we can lean into them, we can collectively forge a future that is built on care, solidarity, and shared responsibility. Now we need the will to act. 

Photo courtesy of German Fon Brox, Unsplash

The post The Path Forward for Food and Farming Is Clear. Now Is the Time to Act! appeared first on Food Tank.

2025 was a year marked by immense uncertainty. Cuts to nutrition assistance and climate smart agriculture programs in the United States, the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and declining Official Development Assistance from countries including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have raised hard questions about what the future holds.

But around the world there is so much resilience and excitement as organizations prove food and agriculture systems can be a solution to our most pressing social and environmental challenges. They are establishing models that nourish children and support local farmers. They are creating more opportunities for women and young farmers to become leaders in their communities. And they are cultivating new and innovative partnerships to fund and scale the solutions already working on the ground.

As we enter 2026, here are 126 organizations and initiatives to learn about, engage with, and support as they work to build a more equitable, regenerative, and delicious future.

1. African Population & Health Research Centre, Kenya

APHRC is an African-founded, African-led research-to-policy institution driving evidence-informed decisions on health and development. Headquartered in Nairobi, they work across 35+ countries to strengthen African research leadership and advance sustainable progress across the continent. They are also behind the award-winning initiative Restoring Nairobi to “A Place of Cool Waters,” to transform Kenya’s capital into a greener, food secure city.

2. Agroecology Fund, International

Since 2011, the Agroecology Fund has pooled resources to strengthen grassroots agroecology movements advancing fair, biodiverse, climate-resilient food systems. Guided by civil society advisors, it supports community-led organizing, learning, and policy advocacy. With US$41 million granted in 100+ countries, the Fund helps build food systems where producers and consumers govern locally—and where agroecology, not industrial agriculture, shapes a just future for people and planet.

3. AKADEMIYA2063, Africa

AKADEMIYA2063 equips African governments with the data, analysis, and technical capacity needed to achieve Agenda 2063’s vision of prosperity and sustainability. Based in Rwanda with a regional office in Senegal, it leads core initiatives to strengthen knowledge systems, empower African experts, and accelerate evidence-based agricultural transformation across the continent. Together with GAIN, they recently launched a toolkit to help governments align policies across sectors to accelerate food systems transformation.

4. Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), Africa

AFSA unites a powerful network of 48 member alliances across 50 countries working to secure food sovereignty rooted in agroecology, traditional knowledge, and community rights. Representing small-scale food producers, Indigenous Peoples, and environmental defenders, AFSA amplifies African-driven solutions and resists industrial agriculture that threatens land, culture, and biodiversity—mobilizing a strong, unified voice for just and resilient food systems.

5. American Farmland Trust (AFT), United States

American Farmland Trust is safeguarding the future of U.S. agriculture by protecting farmland, restoring soil health, and keeping farmers on the land. From advancing smart land-use policies to supporting new generations of producers, AFT links food, climate resilience, and rural prosperity. Amid rapid land loss, AFT’s No Farms No Food message continues to spotlight farmland as the foundation of our food system.

6. Annie’s Project, United States

Annie’s Project empowers women farmers, ranchers, and growers with the business skills and confidence needed to lead thriving agricultural operations. Through peer networks, practical training, and locally tailored learning environments, participants strengthen decision-making across financial, legal, and risk-management challenges. Honoring a legacy of women as equal partners on the land, Annie’s Project is helping shape stronger farms, families, and communities.

7. Aragón Agri-Food Institute, Europe

Based at the Aula Dei research campus in Spain, CITA drives scientific innovation to strengthen sustainable agriculture, forestry, and rural economies. Its teams advance agroecology, climate resilience, and the bio- and circular economy through collaborative research and living labs. From conserving genetic resources to improving livestock and plant systems, CITA helps shape a more competitive and sustainable agrifood sector across Europe.

8. Arrell Food Institute, Canada

Based at the University of Guelph, the Arrell Food Institute connects scientists, policymakers, industry, and communities to advance sustainable, equitable food systems. Its work spans reducing waste in supply chains, supporting climate-smart production, and improving nutrition access. Through initiatives like ag-tech innovation and net-zero food system challenges, AFI helps Canada lead in resilient food futures.

9. Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), Asia

AFA unites small-scale farmers, fishers, Indigenous Peoples, and pastoralists across Asia to advance food sovereignty and resilient rural livelihoods. Through advocacy, cooperative development, youth engagement, and farmer-to-farmer learning, AFA strengthens secure land rights and agroecological production. With members in 20+ countries, the alliance amplifies community voices in policies that shape a just farming future for the region.

10. Australian Conservation Foundation, Australia

For nearly 60 years, the Australian Conservation Foundation has mobilized people across the country to protect wildlife, forests, rivers, and reefs. From securing World Heritage protection for the Great Barrier Reef and Kakadu to advancing clean energy and stronger nature laws, ACF challenges harmful industries and empowers communities—driving bold action so nature and people can thrive together in Australia’s future.

11. Agroecology & Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA), Australia

AFSA is a farmer-led alliance working to democratize Australia’s food system through agroecology, land justice, and First Peoples’ sovereignty. From legal support for smallholders to campaigning for scale-appropriate regulation and local processing infrastructure, AFSA empowers producers and communities to reclaim control of food and land. Connected to La Via Campesina, the Alliance drives policy reform and grassroots solutions for just, local, climate-resilient food systems.

12. Better Food Future, International

Better Food Future brings industry, government, and civil society together to build resilient, transparent, and climate-smart food systems. By aligning sustainability goals with global data standards, the initiative strengthens traceability in seafood and cattle, expands fair market access for small-scale producers, and eliminates deforestation from supply chains—driving measurable progress and shared prosperity from source to shelf.

13. Black Feminist Project, United States

The Black Feminist Project advances food and reproductive justice for Black women, girls, and gender-expansive people in the South Bronx. Through Black Joy Farm, sliding-scale community meals, and youth programs like Guerrilla Girls and Sis, Do You!, the organization combats food apartheid, builds leadership, and cultivates joy and autonomy—placing MaGes and mother-led families at the center of community power.

14. Broadway Green Alliance, United States

The Broadway Green Alliance mobilizes theatre-makers and audiences to shrink the industry’s environmental footprint—from switching 100,000 marquee bulbs to efficient LEDs to diverting tons of textiles and electronics from landfills. With 1,600+ Green Captains on Broadway and campuses nationwide, BGA equips artists with practical sustainability tools and uses the power of storytelling to inspire climate-positive action.

15. Buğday Association, Turkey

Born from a grassroots ecological movement in the 1990s, Buğday Association works to build a culture of ecological living in Turkey. Through projects spanning seed exchange, pesticide-free farming, composting, agroecology education, and Turkey’s 100 percent Ecological Markets, Buğday strengthens links between rural producers and urban consumers while championing nature-friendly production and traditional knowledge.

16. C40 Food Systems, International

Part of a global network of 97 cities, C40 Food Systems helps mayors transform urban food into a powerful climate solution. The program supports cities to cut emissions from production to waste, improve food access and nutrition, and build resilience through circular, plant-forward, and equitable food policies—advancing a fair, green transition that protects people and the planet.

17. CARE International, International and CARE USA, United States

For 80 years, CARE has worked alongside communities to confront crises, defeat poverty, and advance dignity. Centering women and girls, CARE delivers lifesaving assistance, strengthens local leadership, and drives long-term change—from emergency response and food security to health, education, and economic opportunity. In 2024, CARE and partners reached 58.7 million people across 121 countries, proving that hope and equality can thrive even in the hardest places.

18. CGIAR, International

CGIAR is a global research partnership transforming food, land, and water systems through science and innovation. Its network includes the Africa Rice Center, CIFOR, CIMMYT, ICARDA, ICRISAT, IFPRI, IITA, ILRI, CIP, IRRI, IWMI, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, ICRAF, and WorldFish. Together, these centers advance climate-resilient crops, equitable food policies, regenerative land management, and sustainable aquatic and livestock systems—delivering research and partnerships that strengthen nutrition, farmer livelihoods, and environmental stewardship worldwide.

19. CORAF, West and Central Africa

CORAF unites the agricultural research systems of 23 countries to drive innovation, boost productivity, and strengthen food and nutrition security across West and Central Africa. Through regional centers of excellence, technology scaling, market access initiatives, and policy support, CORAF helps family farmers adopt climate-smart solutions and fosters a future where communities prosper through resilient, competitive, and sustainable agriculture.

20. Charlie Cart Project, United States

With its mobile kitchen classrooms, the Charlie Cart Project brings hands-on food education directly into schools, libraries, and community centers. Their integrated curriculum helps children and adults learn cooking skills, nutrition basics, and the origins of their food. In the last decade, they have reached over 500,000 children and families through our 500 community partners across the country.

21. City Harvest, United States

For more than 40 years, City Harvest has led the food-rescue movement in New York City—recovering over 86 million pounds of surplus food each year and delivering it, free of charge, to 400 pantries, soup kitchens, and Mobile Markets® across all five boroughs. With a focus on fresh produce, culturally responsive foods, nutrition education, and community partnerships, City Harvest fights hunger, reduces waste, and strengthens local food systems so every New Yorker can thrive.

22. Climate Group, International

Climate Group accelerates urgent climate action by mobilizing powerful networks of 500+ multinational companies and 180+ state and regional governments. Working across high-emitting systems—energy, transport, heavy industry, and food—it drives commitments, enforces accountability, and turns ambition into measurable progress. Its global collaborations push organizations to act now and help steer the world toward net-zero by 2050.

23. Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), United States

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a worker-led human rights organization transforming U.S. agriculture through organizing, enforcement, and consumer power. Since 1993, CIW has exposed and helped prosecute major forced-labor rings, liberated over 1,200 workers, and pioneered the Fair Food Program—a worker-driven model that raises wages, prevents abuse, and sets enforceable standards across farms in multiple states and crops.

24. Conflict Cuisine Project, International 

The Conflict Cuisine Project explores the deep links between food and war, using culinary traditions as a lens to understand conflict, diaspora, and peacebuilding. Through gastrodiplomacy, education programs, and collaborations with chefs and policymakers, the project shows how recipes, foodways, and shared meals can foster dialogue, integration, and a more nuanced understanding of global insecurity.

25. Community Kitchen, United States

Community Kitchen is a pilot sliding-scale restaurant at the Lower Eastside Girls Club, where chef Mavis-Jay Sanders serves multi-course, locally sourced, plant-forward dinners priced at US$15, US$45, or US$125 based on income and wealth—no questions asked. Co-founded with Mark Bittman, the project aims to prove that dignified, high-quality dining can be accessible, community-centered, and a model for policy change.

26. Crop Trust, International

The Crop Trust safeguards the world’s crop diversity by funding and strengthening genebanks and backing global seed reserves like the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Its Food Forever strategy aims to permanently secure key collections and make them more accessible to researchers and farmers. Through long-term partnerships, technical support, and capacity building, the organization helps ensure agriculture can adapt to climate, conflict, and biodiversity loss.

27. Culinary Institute of America, United States

The Culinary Institute of America prepares future food leaders through its longstanding commitment to excellence, research, and innovation. CIA co-founded and leads the  Menus of Change University Research Collaborative, a worldwide partnership of universities leveraging campus dining to study behavior change and bring plant-forward, climate-smart menu innovation into practice. 

28. Cultivemos Network, United States

Cultivemos—meaning “we cultivate”—links Northeast farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers to mental-health resources, culturally relevant support, and community-driven education. Through partnerships with Farm Aid and others, the network provides bilingual materials, resilience trainings, and a growing service-provider community designed to reduce stress, strengthen well-being, and ensure agricultural families can access the care they need.

29. Dion’s Chicago Dream, United States

Dion’s Chicago Dream advances health equity by redesigning food access through last-mile logistics. Founded in Englewood, the nonprofit delivers fresh, pre-measured produce directly to households through Dream Deliveries, community Dream Fridges, and networked Dream Vaults—collectively providing millions of pounds of healthy food. By pairing nutritional philanthropy with workforce development and neighborhood partnerships, the Dream builds community, stability, and hope across Chicago.

30. Edible Schoolyard Project, United States

The Edible Schoolyard Project, founded by Alice Waters in 1995, transforms public education by integrating organic gardens, kitchens, and cafeterias into academic learning. Its Berkeley demonstration site anchors a national movement where students cook, garden, and study food systems as part of their core curriculum. Through free classroom resources and the Alice Waters Institute, the organization advances edible education, climate action, and community well-being.

31. EAT, International

EAT works at the intersection of science, policy, business, and civil society to accelerate the shift toward healthy, fair, and sustainable food systems. Through science-based initiatives like the EAT–Lancet Commission report, global convenings such as the Stockholm Food Forum, and city-level efforts advancing the Planetary Health Diet, EAT works to transform evidence into collective action and partnerships that support people and the planet.

32. EiT Food, Europe 

EIT Food brings together innovators across Europe to accelerate the shift toward a healthier, more sustainable, and consumer-centered food system. Backed by the EU, it invests in research, education, entrepreneurship, and public engagement to advance three core missions—healthier diets, resilient and transparent supply chains, and a net-zero food system—linking startups, industry, and communities to drive system-wide change.

33. European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture (EARA), Europe

The European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture (EARA) is a farmer-led coalition advancing ecological, economic, and social regeneration across Europe’s agrifood system. Rooted in diverse farming contexts, EARA elevates farmer expertise in EU policy and builds broad alliances through its Regenerating Europe Tour—a series of strategic dialogues, farm visits, and workshops across Member States designed to accelerate a soil-centered, regenerative agricultural transition.

34. FAIRR Initiative, International

FAIRR is an investor network mobilizing more than US$90 trillion in assets to address the financial and systemic risks tied to intensive animal agriculture. Through rigorous research, company benchmarking, and coordinated investor engagement, FAIRR equips members to navigate climate, biodiversity, labor, and antimicrobial resistance risks while identifying opportunities across the protein value chain to accelerate a more sustainable and resilient global food system.

35. Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO (FLOC), United States

The Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO (FLOC) is a union and social movement advancing farmworkers’ rights across the Midwest and South. Founded in the 1960s by Baldemar Velásquez, FLOC pioneered tri-party bargaining—bringing corporations, growers, and workers to the same table—to secure fair wages, safer housing, and grievance protections, while mobilizing broad public support to shift power toward those who labor in the fields.

36. Feeding Change, United States

The Milken Institute’s Feeding Change program works to build a more nutritious, sustainable, equitable, and resilient food system by activating the necessary social and financial capital needed to drive this transformation. Some of their recent policy briefs and reports have called for employer-led nutrition strategies, expanded access to pharmacy-based care, and natural capital solutions. 

37. First Nations Development Institute, United States

First Nations Development Institute strengthens the economic, cultural, and ecological well-being of Native communities by supporting Tribal sovereignty and investing in Native-led solutions. Since 1980, its national grantmaking program has directed thousands of awards to projects advancing land stewardship, food systems, economic justice, and Native arts—reinforcing community assets, uplifting Indigenous knowledge, and sustaining self-determined futures across Tribal nations.

38. Food is Medicine Institute, United States

The Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts advances the integration of nutritious food into healthcare by generating evidence, training clinicians, and supporting patient care models such as medically tailored meals, groceries, and produce prescriptions. Through interdisciplinary research, policy analysis, and community partnerships, the Institute works to embed FIM into clinical systems, reduce health disparities, and strengthen a more equitable, prevention-focused healthcare system.

39. Food Recovery Network (FRN), United States

Food Recovery Network mobilizes thousands of student leaders, food businesses, and farms to keep surplus food out of landfills and redirect it to community organizations fighting hunger. Launched in 2011 at the University of Maryland, FRN now operates nearly 200 campus and community programs, recovering millions of pounds of fresh food and expanding local food access while reducing waste and emissions nationwide.

40. Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), United States

The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) advances policies that ensure every person in the U.S. can access nutritious food. Through research, advocacy, and support for a nationwide network of anti-hunger partners, FRAC strengthens federal nutrition programs, expands benefits, addresses racial inequities, and tackles the root causes of poverty-related hunger to build a healthier, more food-secure nation.

41. Food Security Leadership Council, International

The Food Security Leadership Council unites leaders from science, agriculture, industry, and global development to reimagine U.S. engagement in global food security. Guided by evidence and nonpartisan analysis, the Council elevates the impacts of U.S. policy, advances a strategic blueprint for international action, and convenes emerging leaders to address rising hunger driven by climate change, land degradation, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss.

42. Food Systems for the Future (FSF), International

Food Systems for the Future advances market-based, nutrition-focused solutions to build equitable and sustainable food systems. Led by Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, the organization works across the U.S. and Africa to expand access to affordable, diverse, and nourishing foods through policy engagement, research, coalition-building, and partnerships that strengthen local capacity and drive systemwide change toward a malnutrition-free world.

43. FreshRx Oklahoma, United States

FreshRx Oklahoma partners with local growers and clinicians to help North Tulsa residents manage Type II diabetes with nutrient-dense, regeneratively grown produce and yearlong support. Launched in 2021 after evidence showed food access was undermining diabetes care, the USDA-funded program provides biweekly produce, cooking and nutrition classes, and regular health screenings—advancing health equity through a Food is Medicine model rooted in community.

44. Friends of the Earth, International

Friends of the Earth mobilizes a nationwide network to advance bold, justice-centered environmental action. Since 1969, the organization has pushed for transformative policies that confront the climate and biodiversity crises head-on—rejecting half-measures, challenging corporate power, and championing systemic solutions. Through advocacy, coalition-building, and movement organizing, they work to protect people and the planet while building durable political power for long-term change.

45. Full Plates Full Potential, United States

Full Plates Full Potential works to end childhood food insecurity in Maine by strengthening and expanding the child nutrition programs that reach students every day. The organization helped lead the passage of School Meals for All and continues partnering with schools and communities to ensure every child has reliable access to nutritious meals that support learning, equity, and long-term well-being.

46. Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), International

GAIN works to improve access to nutritious, safe, and affordable food by transforming food systems alongside governments, businesses, and civil society. They focus on availability, affordability, desirability, and sustainability of healthy diets—especially for women, children, and other vulnerable groups—through programs that strengthen markets, advance fortification, shape policy, and expand nutrition-focused innovation worldwide.

47. Global Alliance for Latinos in Agriculture (GALA), International

GALA strengthens Latino farmers and ranchers worldwide through regenerative agriculture, conscious capitalism, and alignment with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. The organization advances youth leadership, digital and carbon-literacy training, and cross-cultural knowledge exchange to revitalize rural communities, foster family-farm prosperity, and build resilient, sustainability-driven agricultural livelihoods across generations.

48. Global Alliance for the Future of Food, International

The Global Alliance for the Future of Food is a coalition of philanthropic foundations working with partners worldwide to accelerate the transition to equitable, climate-resilient food systems. The Alliance advances systems-level solutions by convening diverse actors, generating evidence, and driving collaborative action toward food systems that uphold health, sustainability, and human rights for present and future generations.

49. Global Food Institute (GFI) at GW, United States

The Global Food Institute at George Washington University advances evidence-based solutions across policy, innovation, and community well-being to transform food systems. Through interdisciplinary research, teaching, and convenings, GFI links science to real-world action, shaping how food is grown, distributed, and experienced to improve human and planetary health.

50. Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming, United States

Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming advances a resilient regional food system by training the next generation of farmers, promoting regenerative practices, and strengthening fair, community-based markets. Working from the Hudson Valley and sharing lessons nationally, Glynwood aligns ecological stewardship with thriving local economies and equitable access to nutritious food. 

51. Gönül Mutfağı, Turkey

Launched by chefs Türev Uludağ and Ebru Baybara Demir, Gönül Mutfağı served over 17 million meals to earthquake survivors in 2023 through the work of 4,000 volunteers. The initiative strengthens long-term recovery by employing local residents through the From Soil to Plate cooperative and supplying 10,000 breakfasts each day to Hatay students.

52. GrowNYC, United States

Since 1970, GrowNYC has helped New Yorkers access fresh food, vibrant green spaces, and environmental education. Through producer-only Greenmarkets, community garden support, and education programs, the organization uplifts regional farmers and empowers residents—particularly frontline communities—to shape a healthier, more resilient city.

53. Guyra Paraguay, Paraguay

Focused on protecting Paraguay’s natural wealth, Guyra Paraguay brings together civil society, Indigenous communities, farmers, and scientists to conserve species, restore forests, and promote sustainable livelihoods. Through projects in the Atlantic Forest, agroforestry initiatives, and innovative monitoring and climate-finance programs—such as their shade-grown yerba mate program—the organization works to build a resilient landscape for people and wildlife. 

54. Green Bronx Machine, United States

Green Bronx Machine transforms classrooms and communities through a K–12+ model that weaves urban agriculture into core academics. Students grow and distribute thousands of pounds of fresh produce while improving attendance, engagement, and achievement. Through food education, workforce development, and community partnerships, the organization builds healthier schools and stronger, more resilient Bronx neighborhoods—proving that healthy students help grow healthy communities.

55. Good Food Fund, China

Good Food Fund drives China’s transition toward healthier, more sustainable, and more humane food systems. Through chef training, youth programs, policy-aligned partnerships, and the Good Food Summit, GFF advances plant-based innovation and elevates animal welfare. Its Good Food Academy and incubator programs build knowledge and support emerging leaders working to shift production, consumption, and public awareness toward a better food future.

56. Harlem Grown, United States

Harlem Grown cultivates healthy kids and resilient communities by engaging Harlem youth in hands-on urban farming, nutrition, and sustainability education. Since 2011, the organization has expanded access to fresh food and learning opportunities by operating 14 urban agriculture sites, from soil-based farms to hydroponic greenhouses, while mentoring elementary-aged students to become advocates for their health, community, and environment.

57. Helen’s Daughters, Caribbean

Helen’s Daughters strengthens rural women across the Caribbean by using agriculture as a pathway to broader economic and social opportunity. Working at the grassroots level, the organization provides training, mentorship, micro-investment, and market access while advancing gender equity through public advocacy. Their programs—from an all-female agri-apprenticeship to FarmHers Markets—position women farmers as leaders of sustainable development across the region.

58. High Atlas Foundation, Morocco

The High Atlas Foundation advances community-led development across Morocco by helping rural families build sustainable livelihoods rooted in fruit-tree agriculture, clean water access, and women’s empowerment. Through 15 nurseries producing millions of saplings, carbon-offset programs, and post-earthquake recovery, HAF supports communities to restore land, preserve cultural heritage, and create long-term, locally driven pathways to economic resilience.

59. IndigeHub, United States

IndigeHub strengthens Indigenous self-determination by creating shared resource hubs that fuel entrepreneurship, food sovereignty, and community resilience. Through coworking spaces, commercial kitchens, and emerging food hubs, the organization expands access to tools, training, and local markets. Their culturally grounded model reduces barriers on tribal lands, supports small businesses, and equips communities to build sustainable, long-term prosperity.

60. Instituto Regenera, Brazil

Instituto Regenera works to advance regenerative food systems by co-creating applied knowledge that drives transparent, fair, inclusive, and sustainable practices. Rooted in the idea that food is climate, biodiversity, and culture, the organization partners across sectors to strengthen emerging models that restore ecosystems, uplift communities, and embed regeneration at every stage of the food system. During COP30, the organization helped secure a commitment from the Brazilian government to source at least one third of food served at the conference from local family farmers.

61. Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Americas

IICA is the Inter-American System’s specialized agency for agriculture, working with 34 Member States to strengthen rural well-being and agricultural development. Through technical cooperation spanning innovation, family farming, trade, digitalization, and agricultural health, IICA supports countries in building competitive, inclusive, and sustainable agrifood systems resilient to climate shocks and aligned with long-term regional development goals.

62. International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Africa

icipe advances insect science for sustainable development across Africa, pioneering environmentally safe tools to manage pests and disease vectors while conserving biodiversity. Through its 4Hs approach—Human Health, Animal Health, Plant Health and Environmental Health—the Centre strengthens food security, rural livelihoods, and ecosystem resilience. As the continent’s only international arthropod research institution, it also builds scientific capacity through extensive training and partnerships.

63. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International

IFAD works to end rural poverty by investing in small-scale farmers and strengthening food systems. A U.N. agency and international financial institution, it provides grants and low-interest loans that expand market access, boost production, and build climate resilience. IFAD’s people-centered approach ensures women, youth, and Indigenous communities shape and benefit from rural transformation.

64. International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), International

IPES-Food unites 25 leading researchers and practitioners to accelerate food system transformation. From analyzing power dynamics to proposing concrete policy reforms, the panel produces influential reports and builds alliances that center equity, sustainability, and health. Rooted in science and informed by frontline realities, IPES-Food provides a clear roadmap for fixing failing food and agriculture systems.

65. International Potato Center, International

Headquartered in Lima, Peru, the International Potato Center (CIP) supports science-based solutions to improve root and tuber agri-food systems. They do this to ultimately enhance nutrition security, support sustainable business, and improve communities’ livelihoods. CIP leads the project Lima 2035, which aims to make the city of Lima’s food and agriculture systems regenerative and human-centered.

66. James Beard Foundation (JBF), United States

The James Beard Foundation strengthens the independent restaurant sector by recognizing excellence and equipping chefs and culinary leaders to drive a more equitable, sustainable food system. Through its awards, training programs, and national initiatives, JBF champions Good Food for Good—supporting an industry that enriches American culture and empowers the people who shape our food future.

67. John Hopkins University Center for Health Security and Center for a Livable Future, United States

At Johns Hopkins University, the Centers for Health Security and a Livable Future are working to reshape our systems in support of human and planetary health. The Center for Health Security works to protect communities from epidemics, biological threats, and public health emergencies while the Center for a Livable Future (CLF) advances alternatives to industrial food systems. CLF also recently launched a program to support the next generation of food and agriculture journalists. 

68. Kiss the Ground, United States

Kiss the Ground advances the regenerative movement by elevating healthy soil as a solution for human and planetary well-being. Through films, digital storytelling, education, and direct farmer support, the organization has inspired millions and helped transition more than two million acres toward regenerative agriculture—mobilizing public awareness toward a tipping point for systems-scale change.

69. La Via Campesina, International

Formed in 1993, La Via Campesina brings together 200 million small-scale food producers in 81 countries to defend land, water, seeds, and territory. The movement centers food sovereignty—healthy, culturally rooted food produced sustainably—and trains members in agroecology and peasant feminism. Its sustained mobilization shaped major global governance spaces, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants.

70. Local2030 Islands Network (L2030IN), International

This global network amplifies the leadership of island communities working toward the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Members share knowledge, strengthen public-private partnerships, and implement initiatives in support of a circular economy to create solutions that are locally driven and culturally informed.

71. McKnight Foundation, United States

The McKnight Foundation is working toward a more just and creative future through investments that celebrate culture bearers, strengthen farmer-centered agroecological research, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and more. Taking a silo-breaking approach, they also blend their program areas to bring food and the arts together. 

72. Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, International

Launched in 2015, the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact unites over 250 cities in a mayor-led commitment to build sustainable, inclusive, and resilient urban food systems. As the leading global framework for municipal food policy, the Pact drives action through a shared 37-point agenda, peer learning, capacity building, and annual Milan Pact Awards showcasing innovative city solutions.

73. Naandi Foundation, India

The Naandi Foundation works across 438 districts in 21 states of India to create a better future for farmers and girls. In support of farmers, the organization encourages knowledge-sharing and the use of sustainable agricultural inputs, finding innovative ways to bring a regenerative and profitable agriculture system. Their goal in the coming years is to support 10 million girls with schooling and employment and 100 million farmers by planting 1 billion trees.

74. National Farm to School Network, United States

The National Farm to School Network builds equitable farm to school systems that support children, farmers, and communities. Through policy leadership, hands-on training, and a nationwide coalition spanning all 50 states, NFSN helps schools serve local food, integrate gardens and food education, and strengthen regional economies—advancing a vision of a racially just and community-driven food system.

75. National Farm Worker Ministry, United States

The National Farm Worker Ministry brings together denominations, congregations, and advocates to back campaigns led by farm workers seeking fair pay, safe conditions, and basic rights. Grounded in faith and racial justice, NFWM organizes actions, educates supporters, and builds solidarity networks that help transform the systems shaping life and labor in U.S. agriculture.

76. National Farmers Union, United States

The National Farmers Union (NFU) represents more than 220,000 family farmers and ranchers, advancing policies rooted in grassroots decision-making. NFU works to strengthen rural economies through farmer-driven advocacy, cooperative solutions, and education, promoting fair markets, resilient communities, and a future where family agriculture can thrive. In response to the increase in political and economic uncertainty farmers are facing in the last year, NFU has continued fighting to put growers first. 

77. National Young Farmers Coalition, United States

The National Young Farmers Coalition is a farmer-led network shifting power and transforming federal policy to equitably resource a new generation of growers. The Coalition centers BIPOC leadership and organizes young farmers nationwide to secure land access, climate resilience, and structural change so farming can remain viable, just, and community-rooted.

78. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), International

Since 1970, NRDC has paired legal action, scientific expertise, and grassroots advocacy to safeguard people and the planet. With offices across the U.S. and in Beijing, its attorneys, scientists, and policy experts tackle climate pollution, toxic exposures, biodiversity loss, and environmental inequity while advancing durable protections for communities and ecosystems.

79. New York Botanical Garden, United States

Each year the New York Botanical Garden reaches tens of thousands of families through exhibitions, botanical experiences, art, music, and events. Their scientists work around the world to find actionable, nature-based solutions to the climate and biodiversity loss crises, striving to create a green future for all. 

80. Niman Ranch Next Generation Foundation, United States

Rooted in Niman Ranch’s commitment to smaller-scale, humane farming, the Next Generation Foundation supports young producers through scholarships and targeted grants. With over US$2 million distributed since 2006, the Foundation helps new farmers pursue education, adopt regenerative methods, expand their operations, and build resilient rural livelihoods.

81. North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS), North America

Founded by Chef Sean Sherman, North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) is rebuilding a regional Indigenous food system through education, enterprise, and access. From its Minneapolis-based Indigenous Food Lab—combining a professional kitchen, market, and training center—NATIFS supports tribal communities in restoring Native foodways, expanding Indigenous culinary businesses, and advancing Indigenous food sovereignty across North America.

82. NOW Partners Foundation, International

For over three decades, NOW Partners Foundation has collaborated with businesses, investors, and institutions to advance regenerative land use, equitable leadership, and new industry logics. Their global partnership guides companies through transitions that integrate profitability with positive impact, demonstrating how Regenerative Value Creation can scale solutions that restore ecosystems, strengthen communities, and build resilient economies.

83. ONE Campaign, International

The ONE Campaign unites activists, data experts, and trusted messengers to influence global decision-makers and secure investments that strengthen opportunity and health across Africa. Strictly nonpartisan and independently funded, ONE pairs hard evidence with public pressure to drive lasting policy change—amplifying millions of voices for a world where dignity and equity are shared by all.

84. One Fair Wage, United States

One Fair Wage unites service workers, employers, and allies to confront the legacy of subminimum pay and win lasting wage justice. By driving research, mobilizing voters, and advancing bold state and local reforms, the organization works to guarantee every worker—tipped, gig, youth, disabled, or incarcerated—a full, fair minimum wage with tips as a true supplement.

85. OzHarvest, Australia

Australia’s largest food-rescue network, OzHarvest saves quality surplus food from thousands of donors and delivers it free to charities nationwide—over 300 million meals so far. Alongside rescue, they run national education programs, innovate with projects like OzHarvest Market and Refettorio, and push for systemic change to halve food waste and strengthen food security.

86. Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM), East, Central, and Southern Africa

PELUM unites civil society organizations from 12 African countries to scale ecological land-use management with smallholder farmers. Founded in 1995, the network drives agroecology training, collaborative learning, and farmer-centered advocacy, expanding sustainable practices and strengthening food sovereignty. Its regional chapters support programs that improve livelihoods while regenerating ecosystems and boosting community resilience.

87. Physicians Association for Nutrition (PAN), International

PAN is a global medical nonprofit working to reduce diet-related deaths by making nutrition central to clinical practice. Through medical education, hospital partnerships, and national branches across four continents, PAN equips health professionals to champion healthy, sustainable diets and drive food-system changes that address chronic disease, climate impacts, and pandemic risk.

88. Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), United States

PFI is a farmer-led network advancing resilient agriculture in Iowa. Members—conventional and organic, large and small—share knowledge through field days, research trials, and peer learning to strengthen stewardship, profitability, and community well-being. United by a land ethic and a commitment to welcoming all, PFI helps farmers build operations grounded in sustainability and shared experience.

89. Project Dandelion, International

Project Dandelion is a women-led global campaign uniting movements, leaders, and communities to demand a climate-safe world. Rooted in climate justice, it mobilizes millions to act, elevates women’s leadership, and advances seven core demands—from ending fossil fuel subsidies to scaling fair, renewable energy—building a powerful, shared symbol for urgent, collective action.

90. Project Drawdown, United States

Project Drawdown is an independent nonprofit advancing bold, science-based climate solutions. Through cutting-edge research, strategic engagement with policymakers, investors, and industry leaders, and powerful storytelling, it shifts resources and public narratives toward effective action. Its work guides climate strategies worldwide, elevating solutions that cut emissions, protect ecosystems, and expand human well-being.

91. ProVeg International, International

ProVeg International accelerates food-system transformation by replacing animal products with plant-based and cultivated alternatives. Active across five continents and holding consultative and observer status with key UN agencies, ProVeg works with companies, investors, and communities to tackle climate, health, and hunger challenges through diet change—aiming to halve global animal-product consumption by 2040.

92. Rainforest Alliance, International

Working across over 60 countries, the Rainforest Alliance mobilizes market power and community leadership to protect forests, restore biodiversity, and improve rural livelihoods. Its global alliance advances regenerative production, responsible sourcing, and climate action, ensuring that farmers, companies, and consumers all contribute to—and benefit from—a future where people and nature thrive in balance.

93. ReFED, United States

ReFED uses data, research, and cross-sector partnerships to drive measurable impact on food loss and waste. In collaboration with the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative (MCURC), they are working with foodservice operators to repurpose surplus food and reduce food waste across college campuses. Their recent toolkit is now helping more chefs implement solutions in their own dining halls. 

94. Regen Places Network, Australia

Across Australia, the Regen Places Network brings communities together to combat people’s disconnection from the environment and one another by developing climate-smart, place-based food and land use strategies. By 2030, they aim to develop 2,030 leaders committed to restoring ecosystems and building resilient food systems, who will make up a far-reaching network of conveners and communities.

95. Regen10, International

Designed as a global multi-stakeholder platform, Regen10 is working to mobilize farmers, companies, researchers, and governments to scale regenerative agriculture. The initiative works to transform how food is produced by improving soil health, strengthening livelihoods, and advancing climate-resilient systems. 

96. Resilient Cities Network, International

Resilient Cities Network works with nearly 100 cities in over 40 countries around the world to future-proof urban centers. Their work is organized around three pillars—climate resilience, circularity, and equity—as they bring together global knowledge, practice, partnerships, and funding to support member cities.

97. Rodale Institute, United States

For decades, the Rodale Institute has pioneered research in organic agriculture research, education, and farmer training. Their long-term field trials provide some of the world’s most influential data on soil health and climate impacts. The organization continues to expand knowledge and support farmers transitioning to regenerative organic methods.

98. Rooted East, United States

Rooted East, a Black-led food collective is fighting food apartheid and working to advance food justice in East Knoxville, Tennessee. Their recent documentary “Roots of Resilience” tells the story of the organization and how they’re using garden education and land partnerships to create a self-sustaining food system.

99. Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS), India

In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Ryss is working alongside farmers to scale the adoption of chemical-free, climate-resilient farming practices. After demonstrating success in India, Ryss collaborated with NOW Partners to bring the model to communities in Zambia. Projects are also underway in Sri Lanka, and Brazil, with nine additional countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have been identified for future implementation as funding is secured.

100. Salesian Sisters’ Valponasca Learning Farm, Zambia

The Salesian Sisters’ Valponasca Learning Farm provides hands-on agricultural education to promote regenerative practices while empowering women and youth. Together with Rythu Sadhikara Samstha and NOW Partners, they are working to facilitate a pilot project that adapts the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming model to the local environment.

101. Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, International

Active in more than 60 countries, the SUN Movement works with governments to prioritize nutrition in national policies and investments. It unites civil society, donors, and the private sector to strengthen systems that support maternal and child health. The movement accelerates coordinated action to end malnutrition in all its forms.

102. SDG2 Advocacy Hub, International

The SDG2 Advocacy Hub drives coordinated global action to achieve SDG2—ending hunger, advancing food security and nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture by 2030. Bringing together NGOs, civil society, UN agencies, and private-sector partners, the Hub strengthens campaigns, supports country-level efforts, and equips advocates with shared tools to maximize collective influence across the Global Goals.

103. Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), India

Founded by Elaben Bhatt in 1972, SEWA represents 3.2 million self-employed women across India’s informal economy. As the country’s largest women-led trade union, SEWA advances full employment and self-reliance by organizing workers, strengthening cooperatives, expanding social protections, and building women-owned enterprises that enhance economic security and collective bargaining power.

104. Senegalese Association for the Promotion of Development at the Base (Asprodeb), Africa

Established in 1995, Asprodeb advances sustainable rural development in Senegal by equipping farmer organizations with technical support, professional training, and financial management tools. Born from collaboration between government and peasant movements, it helps family farms strengthen their services, implement development programs, and build productive partnerships across the agricultural sector.

105. Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative, United States

Based on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, this initiative works to restore traditional food systems and strengthen community health. Programs include seed saving, gardening, and educational workshops that reconnect youth and families to cultural food practices. Their work centers Indigenous knowledge as a foundation for food sovereignty and resilience.

106. Slow Food International, International and Slow Food USA, United States

Slow Food promotes local, sustainable, and culturally meaningful food systems around the globe. From grassroots chapters in the U.S. to international networks, the organization supports farmers, chefs, and communities in preserving biodiversity and culinary traditions in an effort to champion good, clean, and fair food for all.

107. Solid’Africa, Rwanda

Solid’Africa aims to empower smallholder farmers in Rwanda to access markets, improve yields, and adopt more sustainable practices. The organization offers free medically tailored meals to patients in public hospitals and delivers affordable, nutritious meals to students in public schools. Their approach prioritizes local sourcing from smallholder farmers, and they operate clean cooking kitchens to create a healthier food ecosystem. 

108. Soul Fire Farm, United States

Located in Upstate New York, Soul Fire Farm is an Afro-Indigenous centered community farm and training center working to end racism and advance food sovereignty. Their programs include farm tours, multi-day immersive programs for growers of Black, Indigenous, and Latine heritage, and youth-focused workshops. 

109. Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, United States

The Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation works with young eaters to encourage healthy habits that will stay with them throughout their lifetimes. By partnering and investing in nutrition education and hands-on gardening programming, they support efforts that teach children how to grow and prepare nutritious food while making connections between what they eat and the natural environment. 

110. Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, United States

Stone Barns Center is a nonprofit farm and educational hub dedicated to regenerative agriculture and local food systems. Visitors and participants learn sustainable farming practices, nutrition, and culinary skills through hands-on experiences. The center serves as a model for farming that nourishes people and the planet.

111. Sustainable Food Trust, United Kingdom

Sustainable Food Trust works to accelerate the transition to sustainable food and farming systems for the benefit of climate, nature and health. Their focus areas include sustainable livestock, a food secure Britain, measuring sustainability, true cost accounting, supporting local abattoirs. 

112. Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University, United States

The Swette Center takes a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to facilitate research, education, public engagement, community-strengthening and policy reform in support of sustainable food systems. Their strategic priorities include cultivating the next generation of leaders, advancing organic research and policy, enabling true cost accounting of food, empowering Indigenous foodways, and engaging the private sector.  

113. Terepeza Development Association, Ethiopia

Working across rural Ethiopia, Terepeza Development Association supports smallholder farmers through programs in climate-smart agriculture, livelihoods, and community development. Their initiatives help families build resilience to drought and food insecurity while improving soil and water management. The organization also invests in youth and women’s empowerment to strengthen long-term sustainability.

114. The Common Market, United States

By connecting regional farmers with institutions like schools and hospitals, The Common Market strengthens local economies and expands access to nutritious, sustainably grown food. By advancing forward purchasing commitments for small and mid-scale farms, the organization hopes to rebuild regional food systems in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Texas, and Great Lakes region of the U.S.

115. The Land Institute, International

The Land Institute is reimagining how grains can be grown in harmony with ecosystems. Their work on crops like Kernza aims to reduce soil erosion, improve biodiversity, and cut carbon emissions. Through science, partnerships, and global advocacy, they hope to advance a regenerative future for agriculture systems.

116. The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, International

Focused on the intersection of data, technology, and social impact, the Patrick J. McGovern foundation supports initiatives that strengthen climate resilience, food security, and community well-being. Their investments help organizations scale digital tools that improve agricultural forecasting, resource management, and humanitarian response. 

117. The Rockefeller Foundation, United States

For more than a century, The Rockefeller Foundation has worked to advance global health and food and nutrition security. Through investments in regenerative school meals, they are working to scale regenerative agriculture, connect students to healthy food, and improve educational outcomes. And with their Food is Medicine work, they are supporting programs and research to better understand the potential of produce prescriptions, medically tailored meals, or healthy grocery programs.

118. UJAMAA Cooperative Farming Alliance (UCFA), United States

UCFA works to bring greater diversity and equity to the seed supply by supporting BIPOC growers and connecting them with buyers seeking culturally significant crops. The Alliance strengthens markets for heritage varieties while investing in farmer training and cooperative development. Their efforts help preserve biodiversity and uplift historically marginalized growers.

119. United Nations System, International

The U.N. System includes principal bodies, specialized agencies, funds, and programs working to improve food and agriculture systems, protect the environment, better health outcomes, and promote gender equity. These institutions include U.N. Development Programme, U.N. Environment Programme, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and FAO North America, U.N. Global Compact, UN Women, the U.N. World Food Programme and World Food Program USA, and the World Health Organization.

120. Urban Growers Collective, United States

Urban Growers Collective operates sustainable urban farms across Chicago, using food production as a vehicle for community empowerment. Centering racial equity, they provide job training, youth leadership programs, and food access initiatives that center. Their work helps strengthen local food systems while supporting health and economic opportunity.

121. Wellness in the Schools, United States

Wellness in the Schools partners works to improve students’ health. By partnering with public schools, chefs, and coaches, they aim to shift the culture of schools to prioritize well-being. Over the last year, the organization has gathered leaders in the food and agriculture policy sphere to develop recommendations to guide the Trump-Vance administration’s overhaul of school meals.  

122. Wholesome Wave, United States

Wholesome Wave works to make fruits and vegetables more affordable for families experiencing food insecurity. Through nutrition incentive programs and produce prescriptions, they help households access healthier food while supporting local farmers. 

123. Women Advancing Nutrition Dietetics and Agriculture (WANDA), United States

Through training, education, and advocacy, WANDA is cultivating a thriving community of Black women leaders across food and agriculture systems. They hope to see more women and girls gain the skills they need to improve their lives and transform their communities from farm to health.

124. World Central Kitchen (WCK), International

In moments of disaster and crisis, WCK, founded by Chef José Andrés, delivers fresh, culturally relevant meals to those who need them most. In the last year, WCK has provided food to communities affected by war and natural disaster, including in Palestine, Ukraine, Haiti, and the Philippines.

125. World Resources Institute (WRI), International

The World Resources Institute works to advance sustainable development through rigorous research and partnerships across government, business, and civil society. They serve as the Secretariat, founding member, and core partner of the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU), which works to rewire food systems to solve the climate crisis. 

126. World Wildlife Fund (WWF), International

WWF is dedicated to conserving biodiversity, addressing the climate crisis, and ensuring sustainable use of natural resources. Recognizing the impact that industrialized food and agriculture systems have on the environment, they work to create more regenerative and efficient production systems while encouraging dietary shifts among eaters. 

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Our ocean holds tremendous potential for sustainable food production. Despite covering more than 70 percent of the planet, less than five percent of the ocean is currently used to produce food. With responsible management, it could provide more than six times the nutrition it does now. As land-based agriculture faces increasing pressures of limited water, constrained land, and rising emissions, blue foods and aquaculture offer a critical way forward—they can produce more nutrient-dense calories with fewer environmental impacts.

Farmed salmon has emerged as a cornerstone species of modern aquaculture—a clear example of how an industry can combine deep scientific expertise with emerging technologies to continually adapt and improve. From advanced monitoring systems to new feed ingredients and welfare-focused husbandry, the sector is leveraging innovation to enhance its nutritional value while steadily reducing its footprint. It is not without challenges, but it has progressed significantly from where it began and is evolving faster than many people realize.

Critics sometimes portray salmon farming and ocean conservation as opposing forces. But they are interconnected. The success of coastal communities and aquaculture farmers both depend upon healthy marine ecosystems. Our member companies are committed to investing in innovation, advocating for strong effective regulatory frameworks and partnering with communities, scientists and NGOs to elevate environmental and social standards to ensure the industry continues to play its role in ensuring a responsible blue economy.

The sector’s progress is guided not only by technology and expertise, but also by rigorous collaboration with scientific bodies and independent certification programs. Frameworks such as third-party environmental standards, welfare protocols, and ecosystem monitoring requirements create clear boundaries and roadmaps for responsible production. Many of these standards are tightly linked to broader marine ecosystem management setting limits on site impacts, protecting biodiversity, and ensuring farms operate within the ecological capacity of local waters. These guidelines are continually reviewed, strengthened, and updated as new science emerges, ensuring that farmed salmon producers are consistently held to evolving best practices and measurable performance benchmarks. This ongoing cycle of assessment and improvement helps drive the industry toward higher levels of transparency, accountability, and sustainability.

At the recent EAT Stockholm Food Forum, leaders from across food systems including farmers, Indigenous communities, researchers, chefs, and business leaders came together to advance a healthier, more equitable food future. Salmon farming was part of that dialogue, sharing how ocean-based food production can model responsible innovation and climate resilience.

Outdated assumptions shouldn’t hold back progress. Like every form of food production, salmon farming still faces challenges and must continue to improve. But today’s responsible aquaculture shows that sustainability, innovation, and animal welfare can align, delivering nutritious, low-impact food while safeguarding ocean health.

When we look closely, we see a story of possibility: an industry in evolution constantly learning, adapting and improving. Farmed salmon is helping redefine what responsible food production can be, nourishing people while protecting the planet.

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In 2011, the country established universal free, eco-friendly school meals at the national level. The win came after decades of grassroots efforts pushing to expand sustainably sourced, healthy meals for students. As of 2024, more than 5 million students in almost 12,000 schools across the country receive daily nutritious school meals, according to the School Meals Coalition.

“School meals reach every student, every day, creating one of the largest institutional procurement systems in the country,” Dr. Seulgi Son, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Yonsei University, who has researched South Korea’s public procurement, tells Food Tank. “Because school meals are universal and publicly funded, they embody social equity, while simultaneously shaping demand for eco-friendly and local agricultural products.”

Seoul has become a leader among several municipalities providing universal, free, and eco-friendly school lunches, serving more than 1 million students daily. Now, the Climate-Friendly Meal Service is going a step further to align local procurement with global sustainability goals while educating students about climate change, Son tells Food Tank.

The initiative incorporates Climate-Friendly Meal Days twice per month that combine plant-forward meals with nutritional planning, education, and menu diversification, Son tells Food Tank. She says they are designed to be more holistic than earlier no-meat campaigns, which focus mainly on removing meat from menus.

On Climate-Friendly Meal Days, schools experiment with a variety of low-carbon ingredients, including seasonal vegetables, legumes, tofu, mushrooms, and locally produced grains, Son says. “The key difference is that they are framed not as dietary restrictions but as a positive ‘climate-conscious’ choice, tied to broader sustainability goals.”

According to Son, nutrition teachers have long provided expertise in schools to ensure meals are nutritionally balanced and aligned with health education. They also serve as a bridge between policy goals and implementation in schools. “In the Climate-Friendly Meal Service, they will be critical in translating abstract climate goals into concrete menus and educational modules.”

“When students plant, harvest, and cook with local vegetables, they can directly see the relationship between food, climate, and community,” Son tells Food Tank. She says these experiential activities reinforce environmental education and food literacy and help embed climate awareness into students’ everyday behavior.

Son shares that she was personally reminded of this when her five-year-old recently announced, “We should eat local food.”

“At first, I assumed he had overheard one of my Zoom meetings, but I later learned he had picked up the idea through gardening at his kindergarten, where children grow vegetables and see them prepared into meals.” For Son, the realization emphasized the importance of these hands-on experiences.

Son’s research shows that South Korea’s success in adopting universal eco-friendly school meals has relied on both top-down policy and strong grass-roots mobilization combined with cross-sector governance. Professional expertise embedded in schools is also key. She explains that civic organizations and activists have played a critical role in achieving the adoption of universal eco-friendly school meals and, in some cases, even manage or co-manage public meal service support centers created by municipalities.

In her current research, Son is exploring how Climate-Friendly Meal Days are being implemented across schools, how nutrition teachers manage daily constraints as they work to meet policy goals, and how students internalize the program’s educational messages. She will also examine how this new framework impacts procurement opportunities for local farmers.

“For the food system, the goal is to demonstrate that public procurement can simultaneously advance equity, sustainability, and resilience.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Shin, S.Y.

The post School Meals Can Teach Lessons about Climate Resilience appeared first on Food Tank.

However, as shoppers look to find products that fit their budget, lifestyle and needs, many are also looking for items that align with their values.

Now more than ever, we’re seeing shoppers turn to labels like organic, single-origin, ethically sourced and Fairtrade to trust that the items in their shopping carts are sourced with both people and planet in mind.

These informed choices show it’s not just about quality ingredients for consumers: it’s about transparency.

At 78 years old, spice farmer A.G. Nandasena attributes part of his good health to the “peaceful and supportive life” made possible by the benefits afforded to farmers through Fairtrade.

He grows household spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, pepper and turmeric in his forest garden farmland in Sri Lanka, where the crops are interspersed among wild native plants to preserve biodiversity, prevent soil erosion and increase much needed shade for the wildlife that inhabits it.

For more than 20 years, Nandasena has exclusively implemented organic practices through Fairtrade certification, which not only benefits the native plants and animal species on his land, but it also offers him the opportunity to earn higher profits for his crops, which has helped Nandasena educate his children and access housing, furniture, and healthcare.

Farmers stories like Nandasena’s prove what’s possible when we center the needs of smallholder farmers through fairer farming practices.

And customers see this value: research conducted in 2025 by independent firm Globescan showed that 72 percent of American consumers who have seen the Fairtrade Mark are willing to pay more to ensure the farmers behind their favorite products are paid a fairer price.

Yet, for decades we’ve seen small-scale farmers behind the products that Americans know and love struggling to receive fair and sustainable prices for their goods and labor.

Fairtrade helps ensure farmers are paid fairly for their products by identifying a minimum price, which includes meeting high standards for labor practices and environmental and human safety. This price protects farmers when global market rates drop to help ensure that they’re able to maintain responsible practices.

In addition, Fairtrade Premiums are added to the price of the commodity. These funds go directly to a network of producers, who democratically decide how to use that money to support their community.

However, not every product has a fixed Fairtrade minimum price and premium yet; spices are a prime example. In some cases, the Fairtrade Premium varies not just by crop, but by country.

To address this, Frontier Co-op and Fairtrade America partnered on a pilot program to establish Fairtrade pricing for three key spices grown by our partners in Guatemala: organic cardamom, turmeric, and allspice. This is important because spice prices fluctuate often between extreme highs and lows, and unlike other commodities, pricing is not publicly available. Lack of transparent pricing puts farmers at a disadvantage. The initiative is designed to improve farmers’ stability and resilience in the face of socioeconomic and climate-related challenges outside of their control.

If successful, this program can be scaled to prove a more stable global market demand for their fairtrade products, expand the availability of Fairtrade spices in the United States for consumers, and change the way we understand Fairtrade premiums.

As global markets grow even more unpredictable due to geopolitical issues, shifting weather patterns, and increasing climate-related natural disasters, it’s clear that small-scale farmers are facing monumental challenges.

That’s why Fairtrade is such a vital linchpin in ensuring farmers are paid a fair price for their goods and sets a high standard that prohibits child labor, protects workers’ rights, and promotes sustainable farming practices that improve the environment.

In November 2025, Fairtrade Month, Fairtrade America commissioned local murals across the country to depict Fairtrade farmers, including Nandasena, to share their stories and entice shoppers to learn more about products that are sustainably sourced and work to increase fairness and equity in our global food supply chain.

When shoppers understand what that label represents—fairer pay, safe working conditions, and community investment—it becomes much more tangible how their purchasing decisions directly impact farmer livelihoods. By choosing products with the Fairtrade Mark, we can ensure smallholder farmers earn a fairer price for their goods and help strengthen their communities.

As consumers, brands, and cooperatives standing with and supporting Fairtrade, we can move beyond a profit-over-people model to build a food system that works for everyone.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Avery Shrader

The post Op-Ed | Fairtrade Holiday Spices: Supporting Global Farming Communities, One Season at a Time appeared first on Food Tank.

“Lima is in fact green. It’s just not green for everybody,” Parsa says in the Food 2050 film, which premieres January 2026 in partnership with Media RED, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Food Tank. “There are two Limas,” and many remote, isolated, and low-income communities in the city pay as much as ten times the price that wealthier residents pay for water.

Parsa founded Lima 2035 with a vision to transform Lima by first enabling equitable access to water. Simple sheets of mesh, called mist catchers or fog nets, have been used for years in hillside communities that lack access to running water. The nets intercept fog as wind blows it through, causing tiny water droplets to stick to its fibers and drip into storage tanks, capturing 200 to 400 liters (53 to 79 gallons) of fresh water per day. 

“Although we do not have rain, the water that evaporates from the Pacific Ocean gets captured in dense fog that becomes somewhat of an airborne aquifer. When fog meets the Andes, the landscape is turned green,” says Parsa. “How do we unlock that water? How do we make it freely available to people?”

With a new “harvesting tower” design by Alberto Fernandez, Lima 2035 is working to expand the surface area that captures fog, reclaiming up to 10,000 liters (more than 2,600 gallons) of fresh water per day for remote and isolated communities. “Once we are able to bridge the water access gap, then many more opportunities become available,” says Parsa.

Lima 2035’s second innovation promotes local food sovereignty. Alison Anaya, farmer and founder of Huertos En Azoteas, creates compact, efficient farming units that transform underutilized city rooftops into flourishing garden spaces. This not only provides fresh, locally grown vegetables and herbs to city residents but also a source of income and employment.

“The majority of the people, they do not have the resources to pay for one vegetable,” says Anaya. These rooftop gardens are “diversifying their diet, teaching them to sow, to have their own garden from which they can feed. And they can also generate extra income for their family.”

Huertos En Azoteas has installed rooftop gardens across Lima’s most underserved neighborhoods, prioritizing schools, community centers, and households led by women. The system uses recycled materials and focuses on water-saving techniques to minimize waste. Since winning the Food System Visionary prize in 2020, Anaya says her team has also developed an app that allows customers to scan a QR code and see detailed information about growing practices, inputs, and harvest timelines.

Today, the model is helping to restore a sense of dignity and self-reliance within the urban food system.

“When you step inside [the rooftop garden], despite being in the middle of the city, there is a surprising color,” says Anaya. “It feels like a small green room suspended above the urban chaos. A place where you can work, observe, and also just pray for a while.”

Lima 2035’s third innovation builds on this by recognizing the city’s rich food culture spanning thousands of years. Lima’s network of 350 archaeological sites, which were sacred in ancient times, is in danger of disappearing amid dense urban development. Architect and Urban Designer Jean Pierre envisions turning these spaces into community hubs, where people can visit a farmers’ market, exchange seeds, or take a gastronomy tour. 

“The only way to preserve these places is by activating them,” says Pierre. “And the answer is food.”

This model has archeological sites participating in urban life, rather than slowly and quietly eroding into neglect, says Pierre. Together with Lima 2035’s other innovations—capturing water from fog, growing food on rooftops—it offers a blueprint for how cities facing deep inequality can build resilience using simple tools, community leadership, and food as a unifying force.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Food 2050 Visionaries: Lima’s Local Regeneration appeared first on Food Tank.

In a small tilapia farm in Honduras, fish mortality once reached nearly 100 percent during the warm season due to a bacterial outbreak. That changed when Jeffry Palma, an aquaculture specialist from Cargill, worked with CARE and local farmers to introduce a targeted vaccine, along with instruction in disease prevention and pond management. Jeffry helped secure the vaccine from a trusted supplier and led hands-on training with farmers on how to administer it safely and effectively.

The result? Mortality rates dropped to just 2 percent, and communities began to see a path toward greater food security and resilience.

This kind of quiet transformation—powered by cross-sector collaboration and technical innovation—is taking place in food and agriculture systems around the world. And in a year like 2025, that progress matters more than ever.

We’re just five years from the target date of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. The world is behind where it needs to be—but progress is happening in places where collaboration unlocks new potential.

At Cargill, we believe that innovation at scale drives lasting impact. It’s not about disruption for disruption’s sake. It’s about advancing practical solutions that work for farmers, improve social and environmental outcomes, and move the entire system forward.

Cargill’s crop innovation scientists are working every day to improve plant genetics, defend crops from disease, and pioneer new functional traits—helping farmers grow more resilient plants to feed a growing global population. They are among the many research and development experts at Cargill helping create a stronger food system. This includes, for example, producing stevia through fermentation in a way that reduces land-use-related impacts by 96 percent, water use by 97 percent, and the carbon footprint by 81 percent compared to conventional sugar.

We’re also eliminating industrially produced trans-fatty acids (iTFAs) from all our edible oils—including in markets without regulation—and earned the #1 global ranking from the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNi) for doing so.

Finally, we see a lot of potential by working with TREES Consulting to create and publish the first Gold Standard-approved methodology for using feed supplements to reduce methane emissions in beef production.

In all of these ventures, it’s collaboration—especially with farmers and partners—that turns scientific advances into real-world progress. Importantly, we recognize that farmers are some of the most innovative and knowledgeable stakeholders in food and agriculture systems. Whether adopting new technologies, integrating regenerative practices from cover crops to agroforestry, or navigating supply chain pressures, their ingenuity is critical to building a more resilient agricultural future.

In Honduras and Guatemala, our partnership with CARE has helped smallholder producers adopt biodigesters that generate biogas and organic fertilizer—reducing emissions and helping participating households transition away from firewood and synthetic fertilizers. As Maria Pereira, a farmer from the community of El Bejuco, shared: “I no longer think about going for firewood, I just turn on the gas and the fire is already working.” This shift has freed up time that Maria now uses to run a food business in her community, improving her family’s income and independence.

In the United States, our Success from the Ground Up program supports state and local organizations that bring regenerative agriculture education directly to farmers. The program provides small and mid-sized grants to farmer networks, soil health coalitions, universities, and conservation groups—enabling on-the-ground innovation through regional roadshows, mobile apps, peer learning cohorts, and multimedia tools. These efforts are designed to meet farmers where they are, helping them build confidence and capacity to implement regenerative practices that work for their operations.

This farmer-first approach extends across our global partnerships. In early 2025, Bathiar Dollah, a farmer and community leader in Malaysia, was invited to join Solidaridad’s Smallholder Support Programme, an initiative supported by Cargill. Reflecting on the experience, he shared: “We learned about farm management, techniques for fertilization, prevention of Ganoderma [a harmful fungus], and much more. I think the programme is really good for us.”

Through this initiative, more than 800 smallholders have been trained in sustainable practices like better pruning, harvesting, and nutrient management—resulting in a 13.7 percent average yield increase among closely monitored participants. Bathiar is now applying these learnings on his own farm and sharing them with others in his community, demonstrating how farmer-focused partnerships can scale impact across regions.

We know the private sector alone can’t transform the food system. But we also know that this transformation cannot happen without business at the table. The future of our food system depends on more of us coming together to test, scale, and invest in solutions that nourish people and the planet.

It’s time to reinvent, redefine, and reimagine what’s possible—together.

The post Reimagining Food Systems With Private Sector Innovation appeared first on Food Tank.

The researchers, representing interdisciplinary and international collaborations, suggest that conventional agricultural research has skewed too heavily in support of staple crops including rice, wheat, and maize. They argue that this approach has overlooked factors of nutrition, climate resilience, and cultural relevance.

A “Crops that Nourish” approach shifts the focus on commercial crops to crops that “promote the soil fertility to nutrition pipeline,” Kate Schneider Lecy, Assistant Professor at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability tells Food Tank.

The researchers frame traditional yet underutilized crops as opportunity crops, uplifting their health and environmental potential. Amaranth, for example, is rich in protein, fiber, and iron, and generally resilient to climate variations, which ultimately benefits neighboring plants and habitats.

To inform more holistic farming decisions, the article calls for transdisciplinary collaboration between areas of expertise. This means incorporating the perspectives of agricultural researchers, nutrition scientists, farmers, and the local communities who consume or utilize the crops. To foster stakeholder engagement along the value chain, from growers to chefs, authors emphasize the value of Participatory Action Research (PAR), which encourages collaboration on everything from seed breeding to market development.

“This is one of our key themes,” Sieglinde Snapp, co-author of the article and Program Director at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, tells Food Tank. “It requires engagement with farmers and farming communities to ensure that modern crop development is oriented towards goals of families, such as nutrition for their children.”

On-farm experimentation, in order to test how a new crop will behave and interact with its surroundings (such as providing soil fertility), is a key part of PAR. And in semi-arid parts of West Africa, researchers are seeing the results: collaboration between seed breeders and small-scale farmers to develop new seed varieties have brought about “markedly increased adoption of millet and sorghum varieties,” says Snapp.

But market demand remains one of the greatest challenges to scaling opportunities crops, Lecy tells Food Tank. She says that if more eaters are interested in eating — and purchasing — these foods, it will incentivize farmers to grow them. The lack of infrastructure to produce and sell at scale is another hurdle. According to Lecy, it is often prohibitively expensive without the help of private sector funding.

Millet and sorghum are two opportunity crops traditionally consumed in African diets and highlighted in the paper. But they tend to be traded in small-scale markets and are not currently sold at scale in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.

“It’s partly an exercise in rebranding,” Lecy tells Food Tank, noting that these crops should be presented as “aspirational” for consumers. “How do we make these healthier, more environmentally [beneficial], more prosocial decisions, the cool things to choose?”

The researchers also urge the importance of leveraging policy instruments to support farmers who grow crops that nourish. Subsidies and federally funded crop insurance for farmers need to be realigned “to favor a diverse set of nutrient dense, climate-adapted, resilient crops” Lecy says.

The article, fundamentally, calls for systemic, locally driven transformation of African food systems that requires collaboration between farmers and researchers, investments in sustained research and development, and supportive government policy.

“We should be prioritizing crops that become foods that are nutrient dense so that people start eating diverse, nutrient-dense diets and send market signals back that prioritize these resilient farming practices,” Lecy tells Food Tank.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Leeshalom, Creative Commons

The post Researchers Say Crops That Nourish Can Transform African Farming appeared first on Food Tank.

World Bank Urges Biodiversity-Centered Agriculture Policies

The World Bank has released a new report examining how modern food production both depends on biodiversity and contributes to its decline, warning that current agricultural practices are undermining the ecosystems that farming relies on.

The report argues that the core challenge is not only reducing agriculture’s environmental harm, but embedding biodiversity into agricultural policies, investments, and public support systems worldwide.

According to the analysis, landscapes that retain at least 20–25 percent natural habitat provide stronger ecosystem services, including pollination, soil fertility, water regulation, and climate stabilization. When natural habitat falls below 10 percent, the report warns that some of these ecosystem services can disappear entirely, threatening agricultural productivity.

The World Bank estimates that 18–33 percent of global agricultural land currently lacks sufficient natural habitat to support pollination, pest control, and other critical services. To address these risks, the report calls for repurposing agricultural subsidies and increasing public investment to help farmers adopt biodiversity-supporting practices.

“When nature and biodiversity collapse, agriculture pays the price,” says Juergen Voegele, Vice President for Planet at the World Bank, emphasizing the economic and food security consequences of ecosystem loss.

Funding Falls Billions Short for Global 30×30 Biodiversity Goal

A new study and interactive dashboard released at the U.N. Environment Assembly warns that international funding to help countries meet the global 30×30 biodiversity target is increasing but remains far below what is required.

Target 3 aims to conserve at least 30 percent of the world’s land, inland waters, and oceans by 2030 to address biodiversity loss and climate change impacts.

The report finds that international public and philanthropic funding for protected and conserved areas in developing countries reached just over US$1.1 billion in 2024, representing roughly 150 percent growth since 2014. Despite this increase, the study estimates that approximately US$6 billion per year will be needed by 2030 to meet Target 3, leaving a projected annual shortfall of about US$4 billion at current funding trajectories.

The report highlights significant disparities in funding distribution, noting that Africa receives nearly half of tracked funding while small island developing states receive only 4.5 percent, despite being identified as priorities under the framework. Marine ecosystems account for just 14 percent of funding. The study also warns that reliance on a small group of donors—including Germany, the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility, the European Union, and the United States—leaves conservation finance vulnerable to political.

“This is a matter of urgency,” says Sierra Leone’s Environment Minister Jiwoh Abdulai, noting that biodiversity loss is already affecting livelihoods in biodiversity-rich countries.

Journal Retracts Influential Glyphosate Safety Study

A leading scientific journal has retracted a widely cited 2000 study that concluded the herbicide Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, do not pose a health risk to humans.

The study, published in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, had been relied upon by U.S. and international regulators, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as evidence that glyphosate was not carcinogenic. The retracted paper had been among the most frequently cited studies on glyphosate safety, ranking in the top 0.1 percent of glyphosate-related scientific literature.

According to the journal’s co-editor-in-chief, Martin van den Berg, the paper was retracted because its conclusions were based entirely on unpublished studies conducted by Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup.

The retraction also cites evidence that Monsanto employees may have helped write the paper without being listed as authors and that financial compensation was not fully disclosed, raising concerns about ghostwriting and scientific independence.

Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity, says the retraction exposes “decades of efforts to hijack the science” and called on the EPA to reassess glyphosate’s cancer risk using independent research.

The decision comes as the Trump administration submitted a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to limit lawsuits against Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018 and faces more than 67,000 glyphosate-related cancer claims.

Trump Administration Launches $700 Million Regenerative Agriculture Pilot

The Trump administration has announced a new US$700 million Regenerative Pilot Program aimed at helping farmers adopt regenerative agriculture practices, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture announcement.

USDA says the initiative is designed to improve soil health, enhance water quality, reduce production costs, and strengthen long-term productivity while supporting the U.S. food and fiber supply.

The program will be administered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Funding for the pilot will be drawn from existing conservation programs, including US$400 million from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and US$300 million from the Conservation Stewardship Program in fiscal year 2026.

The pilot introduces a streamlined, whole-farm application process that allows producers to bundle multiple regenerative practices under a single conservation plan. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins says the initiative “puts Farmers First” by reducing administrative barriers and encouraging soil health and land stewardship as part of the administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.

The announcement comes as NRCS faces staffing shortages following the loss of at least 2,400 employees and roughly US$100 million in funding, raising concerns about the agency’s capacity to deliver conservation assistance.

Farm Action, a nonprofit that advocates for small farms, welcomes the investment but cautions that adequate staffing will be necessary to ensure funds are distributed “quickly and fairly” to farmers.

FRAC Report Finds Too Many Children Missing Out on Afterschool Nutrition Programs

The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) released a new report, Afterschool Suppers: A Snapshot of Participation, finding that many children are not receiving afterschool meals and snacks through federal nutrition programs.

The report shows that in October 2024, only one child received an afterschool supper for every 16 children who participated in free or reduced-price school lunch, underscoring a significant participation gap.

FRAC reported that approximately 1.26 million children received an afterschool supper on an average school day in October 2024, a slight increase from the prior year but still below pre-pandemic levels. Access declined in other areas, as the number of sites serving afterschool suppers and/or snacks fell to 44,911 in 2024, down 1,397 sites from 2023.

FRAC estimates that if every state met its benchmark of serving 15 children with afterschool supper for every 100 children receiving free or reduced-price lunch, more than 1.8 million additional children would have been served in a single month. Failing to reach that benchmark also resulted in an estimated $163.5 million in lost federal funding for afterschool suppers nationwide in October 2024 alone.

“Families are facing rising food costs, and many parents are working long hours just to get by,” says FRAC President Crystal FitzSimons, noting that afterschool nutrition programs help children “learn and thrive” while supporting working families.

FRAC recommends lowering eligibility thresholds, streamlining administration, and increasing funding to expand access to afterschool meals nationwide.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Siwawut Phoophinyo, Unsplash

The post Food Tank’s Weekly News Roundup: World Bank Biodiversity Warnings, U.S. Regenerative Farm Funding, and After-School Nutrition Gaps appeared first on Food Tank.

Whether I’m traveling or at home, I usually have a book open. Somehow, my stack of books I want to read still seems never-ending—but that’s exactly how I like it!

Every season, Food Tank loves highlighting personal stories, cultural analyses, social histories, and more books that not only illuminate the food system as we know it today but also help us imagine what we can build tomorrow.

In All Consuming: Why We Eat The Way We Eat Now, baker and cookbook author Ruby Tandoh unpacks the social forces that shape our relationship with food in ways we might not realize. Looking at Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s quest to reinvest his fortune into climate resiliency in the book Dirtbag Billionaire, New York Times reporter David Gelles asks how we can reconcile the contradictions of creating a mission-driven business in a capitalist society. Author Nancy Matsumoto argues in Reaping What She Sows: How Women are Rebuilding a Broken Food System that community self-reliance is crucial—and women trailblazers have been and will continue to be indispensable to saving and rebuilding regional food systems.

In cookbooks and other guides—like Recipes From The American South by Michael Twitty, Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America by Sean Sherman, and What to Eat Now: The Indispensable Guide to Good Food, How to Find It, and Why It Matters by Marion Nestle—we’re reminded how changing the world can begin on our plates.

And we learn how to chart a path forward by digging into success stories. From Sam Kass’ The Last Supper, we learn from the chef and former Obama Administration food policy advisor about how we can invest in maximizing nutrition while protecting the climate. In The Accidental Seed Heroes, Adam Alexander celebrates the power of traditional seeds, and in Sea Change, authors Amanda Leland and James Workman share stories of the unlikely partnerships that are revolutionizing the fishing industry for the better.

I hope you’ll dive deeper into our most recent book list of 26 titles that, I think, can help us all plant and water the seeds of change in our own communities! CLICK HERE for the full list, including information on how you can find these books for yourself or as gifts.

Every one of us is intertwined in the food system, no matter our age—so we need to include young folks in our food system storytelling, too!

We’re also highlighting 20 additional books to spark curiosity in young readers about the food on their plates and the plants growing around them. What I love about these books is that they center the joyfulness of discovering where food comes from and how delicious it can be.

I also deeply respect the way that books on this list like A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen by Erin Frankel, Lucas and Emily’s Food Bank Adventure by Dave Grunenwald, Saturdays at Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood by Tony Hillery and other books don’t avoid complex topics but rather find creative, appropriate ways to help young readers understand how food changes lives.

Young folks can be citizen eaters, too, so let’s give them the tools to advocate for sustainability and help shape the world they’ll inherit. Check out our list of 20 books to help kids in your life connect with food systems by CLICKING HERE.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Muaawiyah Dadabhay, Unsplash

The post With Books for Kids and Adults, We Can Read Our Way to a Stronger Food System appeared first on Food Tank.

“After a terrifying night, the roads were closed, the power went out, cell phones went down, the internet was out, land lines went down,” recalls Radice.

At the urging of a friend, Radice did what she does best: cared for people through food. Radice and her team cooked and served lunches to more than 100 people who were without power throughout the following week, using ingredients grown mostly on the 5,000-acre farm where she lives, Ridgewood Ranch. The Redwood Complex fire ultimately burned 39,000 acres, tragically taking nine lives. Amid the devastation, she says the act of cooking together brought a moment of relief to her community.

“In the face of disaster and tragedy, there was so much laughter in the kitchen. Cooking together was fun, and it was easy,” says Radice. “And I would do it again tomorrow.”

Today, Radice co-owns Black Dog Farm & Catering and is Director of the School of Adaptive Agriculture, an intensive vocational farming program on Ridgewood Ranch. After farming in California for more than 20 years while juggling careers in catering, cooking, and organizing, she says one of the most important lessons she has learned is that she cannot do it all.

“I used to think that if I worked really hard and really got organized, I could be a relatively successful small farmer and be self-sufficient. One of the humbling things that I’ve realized as an adult and a farmer is that I don’t think it’s possible to be self-sufficient. None of this works without a huge amount of grace, support, and cooperation from other people,” says Radice.

“The great humbling was a painful and humiliating career phase to go through. But on the other side, I see how my farm can connect people and be a foundational cornerstone of community, bringing people together through joy, beauty, and celebration.”

This lesson is put to practice with the Good Farm Fund, which Radice co-founded in 2015. What started as plans for a small Christmas party blossomed into a large farm-to-table dinner, and eventually, a nonprofit community organization supporting the economic viability of small farms and local food access for low-income members of their community.

“I originally noticed that these farmers that I really looked up to were losing their lease, and they were trying to crowdsource money to buy land so they could stay in the area,” says Radice. “It did not work, and they got a lot of negative feedback saying that the challenges that they were facing were things faced by all farmers.”

Radice realized that these efforts could be more effective if the farmers joined together. She set up a farm grant program, which she calls “mutual aid for farmers,” where community-fundraised money goes to farm infrastructure, capacity building, food access programs, and more.

“A lot of farms have trouble getting the investment money to scale their business to a space where it’s actually sustainable. And the battle to compete with large-scale agriculture is set up for small farms to fail,” says Radice. “But people really like small farms and farmers’ markets, people want to live in a community where you can get your [Community Supported Agriculture] box, those kinds of things exist and are abundant. And we just needed to create a way to connect the community supporters with those kinds of farms.”

The Good Farm Fund has awarded more than US$500,000 in grants to date, a testament to the power of community-based action: “We’re building the infrastructure of the food system that we want to have,” says Radice.

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in lifting up family farmer stories, including Radice’s at Climate Week NYC: A Night of Storytelling Honoring Our Farmers. Watch her story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Caroline Radice

The post Community-Based Action Uplifts Small Farms in California appeared first on Food Tank.

As I pack my bags each year for New York, friends and family ask me what Climate Week it is about and how it helps address the climate crisis. Absorbing an enormous amount of resources, it’s an important question. Climate Week began in 2009 as a side event to the U.N. General Assembly’s (UNGA) annual meeting to deepen climate commitments. Today, the two events are largely separated with limited opportunities to influence the UNGA. Its organizers describe it as a “world-leading global climate event” of leaders “that have the means, the scale and the ideas to take bold action.” Although policies are not forged at Climate Week, relationships are. While the larger environmental NGOs tend to be well-represented, grassroots civil society movements are generally not, which left me concerned as to whether the bold actions hatched there will be sufficiently grounded in community leadership.

Nonetheless, the conversations offered inspiration. Traffic was predictably awful, black Suburbans ushering heads of state about. To arrive at venues from Columbia University to Tribeca, I weaved on a bicycle between taxis. In one midtown session, a slide tracked how, over the past decade, the links between climate and food systems have gained momentum in deliberations at the COPs. It was good to see a general trend I’ve observed—of growing interest in this link—confirmed by the data. At the Agroecology Fund, we’re convinced that there is no climate solution without a redesign of food systems along agroecology principles.

In a session on Indigenous-Led Climate Finance hosted by the Collective Action for Just Finance, NDN Collective and Oweesta, a speaker noted that an investment in Indigenous-led funds providing blended capital for alternative energy and traditional food systems isn’t “concessional” in the conventional  sense—which can be  unappealing to investors seeking higher returns—but rather offers a “restorative” return on a broken planet. A fund manager, Vanessa Roanhorse, said, “I’m not here to pass down debt, rather to pass down opportunity.”

Truly harrowing was a session organized by ClimateWorks and others on “A Philanthropic Path to Collective Action on Agrochemicals and Fossil Fuels.” There, we heard about the fossil fuel industry’s agile footwork. As fossil fuels decline as an energy source, companies double down on petroleum-based agrochemical inputs. Seeking a more resilient horizon, Tonya Allen, President of the McKnight Foundation, shared, “the more we farm with nature, the more we solve problems.” She cited examples of agroecological innovations in Tanzania, including non-fossil fuel bio-inputs that fortify soil health.

On the other side of the Atlantic, I joined the Milano Urban Food Policy Pact’s Global Forum. More than 300 municipalities worldwide have joined MUFPP to share experiences in strengthening sustainable and equitable food systems. I served on a jury to recognize cities’ outstanding food policy innovations; all tied to climate resilience. From Jericho’s use of treated wastewater to irrigate a greenbelt of dates to Choné’s reforestation with cacao trees which has generated employment along the value chain, it was a wealth of creativity and political commitment carried out in partnerships with civil society. In these moments of cruel and neglectful national politics, gestures to guarantee livelihoods and the most basic of rights—the right to food—seemed just the right medicine.

Further south in Rome, the Agroecology Coalition convened donors of diverse stripes—from multilateral development agencies to philanthropies—to explore how to deepen investments in agroecology. Development banks joined the conversation. Were they to finance principles-based agroecology, it would be a significant investment flow.

Immediately after the donor gathering, the Committee on World Food Security’s (CFS) annual meeting took place at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). CFS has a special place in my heart. It celebrates multilateralism amidst its generalized collapse, exacerbated by the U.S. retreat. The U.N. Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhiri, stated that “the U.N. died in Gaza” when food was used as a weapon and the U.N. stood by. Perhaps CFS can be a space for multilateral resurrection.

In a vivid representation of the links between the global and local, Anna Scavuzzo, Vice Mayor of Milano spoke at CFS and the CFS chair H.E. Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile spoke at the Milano forum. The next High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) report—a previous one articulated the 13 principles of agroecology—will be on Resilient Food Systems and present research findings on strategies to safeguard food security in a changing climate.

CFS’ governance is unique. In the reform of 2009, the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Mechanism (CSIPM) was born a space in which many Agroecology Fund grantee partners participate. One has to admire the CFS as a forum in which the private sector and philanthropic foundations both have seats, the CSIPM delegation advocates for Indigenous land rights and in a plenary session, the U.S. asks to be dissociated from policy recommendations on Urban and Peri Urban Food Systems due to a series of “red lines” including climate change, equity, and diversity that are “not actionable given their lack of focus and expensive scope.”

Of course, CFS has plenty of problems, not least of which is that recommendations and guidelines are non-binding. The CSIPM advocates hard for these products to be taken up by governments. Some are rankled by CFS’ inclusive nature. Over recent years, a new forum has appeared, the World Food Forum, in which the food and agriculture industries have a heavier hand. It could siphon interest away from CFS.

A common thread tying together these diverse fora is that they are moments in time. While CFS stands out as the culmination of consultative processes from territories to parliaments, all three are primarily places to strengthen relationships, share knowledge, and pledge joint commitments. The hard work occurs both before and after, in communities across landscapes. In nearly every session I attended, grassroots actors were lifted up as essential landscape leaders, wonkily described as the secret sauce to scaling resilient food systems up and out. Their underfunding was noted. May action follow discourse. May funding for these community-driven food and climate solutions be abundant and may agroecological food systems grow like corn after a summer rain!

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Mahfuz Shaikh, Unsplash

The post Op-Ed | After the Party: Putting Flesh on Food and Climate Commitments appeared first on Food Tank.

At Instacart, our mission is simple: to create a world where everyone has access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. For too many families, though, nutritious food remains out of reach. As U.S. food insecurity rises and chronic diet-related diseases become more prevalent, the connection between nutrition and health has never been clearer.

Since launching Instacart Health, we’ve worked to bridge the gap between food access and health outcomes by leveraging our technology, partnerships, research, and advocacy. Along the way, we’ve seen two powerful opportunities for the private sector to partner with governments: first, through direct, innovative collaborations that deliver tangible results — and second, by leveraging our learnings to help inform public policy.

On the former, for example, we were proud to work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help bring Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) online and become the first online grocery marketplace to expand it to all 50 states and Washington, D.C., making it easier for millions of families to access nutritious food. We’ve since expanded to offer EBT SNAP payments across nearly 180 retail banners and more than 30,000 stores nationwide. And last year, we introduced a SNAP eligibility screener directly on our platform, allowing anyone to easily check if they could qualify for SNAP and find relevant state resources to enroll. 

At the local level, programs like our Grocery Access Program Pilot in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Montgomery County Groceries Program in Maryland—both of which leverage Instacart Health technology to unlock grocery delivery for families facing food insecurity — are delivering measurable impact, including evidence of improved food access and healthier food choices. In DC, our latest and largest government partnership with the city’s Department of Health is helping families put more fruits and vegetables on their tables by giving 1,000 D.C. households access to monthly online grocery stipends through Fresh Funds, a program that allows providers to fund category-specific stipends, like fresh and frozen produce. Together, these initiatives show how public-private partnerships can expand food access and give every family the dignity and convenience of choice through online grocery.

The insights we’ve gleaned from these and other programs can be powerful in shaping public policies to combat hunger and nutrition insecurity. That’s why we recently released our new Instacart Health Policy Agenda, outlining our top policy recommendations and advocacy commitments in two focus areas: strengthening and modernizing food assistance programs and integrating nutrition into healthcare. This new agenda serves as a roadmap for how policymakers, private companies, and nonprofits can work together to expand access to nutritious food for all and improve health outcomes in communities across the country. 

Among the nation’s first large-scale food access and nutrition programs, SNAP and Women, Infant, and Children programs (WIC) laid the foundation for nationwide food as medicine initiatives, ensuring millions of families could put healthy food on the table. That’s exactly why we’re advocating for their modernization. These programs remain as vital today as ever, and they deserve the tools and infrastructure needed to maximize their impact.

During the pandemic, online grocery shopping became a lifeline—saving time, reducing stress and perceived stigma, and even encouraging healthier purchases. Research from No Kid Hungry and the University of Kentucky found that families shopping online with SNAP bought an average of $5.24 more in fruits and vegetables without increasing their total grocery bill. By bringing programs like WIC online, we can help more families shop with dignity and flexibility while improving health outcomes. It’s also why our agenda calls for making the online SNAP pilot program permanent. 

We’ve also seen firsthand how that food access can serve as a powerful form of preventive care. Across the country, states are incorporating food as medicine interventions into Medicaid and Medicare, with promising early results. Medically-tailored groceries and produce prescriptions are helping patients manage chronic conditions and improve key markers of health while reducing overall healthcare costs. To scale these solutions, we’re calling on legislators to enact clear policy guidance, streamlined waivers, and efficient billing systems that make nutrition-based care easier to implement at scale.

Finally, no conversation about nutrition security is complete without the consideration of children’s needs. We’re calling for expanded universal school meal programs and encouraging states to opt into the Summer EBT program, ensuring every child has access to healthy food year-round.

We’re proud to play our part in improving health outcomes. Our new Instacart Health Policy Agenda and growing network of public-private partnerships reflect our belief that expanding access to nutritious food is one of the most powerful ways to strengthen communities and advance public health. That’s because everyone deserves access not only to the food they love, but to the nutrition they need to live a healthy life.

Photo courtesy of Annie Spratt, Unsplash

The post From Checkout to Checkup: Reimagining the Role of the Grocery Aisle in Public Health appeared first on Food Tank.

There are several reasons seafood is often overlooked. First, there’s an awareness gap: unlike commodities like corn, soy, beef, pork, or chicken, seafood comes in thousands of species, harvested wild or farmed in ecosystems across the globe. Seafood is the last category of commercially available food where half of the source comes from the wild. Most foods we eat today are farmed. Policymakers and investors may see this diversity as too complex to package into a single solution.

Second, misperceptions linger. Concerns about mercury, overfishing, and bycatch often overshadow the fact that 80-90 percent of grocery retailers in the United States already have sustainable seafood policies in place, and that aquaculture is now the fastest-growing food production sector worldwide. Meanwhile, strong scientific evidence shows that the health benefits of eating seafood far outweigh potential risks. A recent landmark commentary published in Neurotoxicology by an international panel of leading scientists outline how current fish consumption advice may limit children’s full neurodevelopmental potential.

Third, there’s the issue of policy fragmentation. Land-based agriculture is mostly consolidated and represented by strong federal programs, while seafood sits at the intersection of agriculture, commerce, risk management, and natural resources agencies. With no single champion, seafood gets sidelined in high-level food systems discussions.

Leaving seafood out of the future of food equation is a mistake. For one, seafood provides a nutritional profile unmatched by land-based proteins. Fish and shellfish are the richest dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. These key nutrients are essential for brain development, heart health, and mental wellness. Mothers who eat seafood during pregnancy have babies with higher IQ. Adequate omega-3 intake reduces preterm birth risk by two-thirds and lowers cardiovascular disease risk by up to 50 percent.

Seafood is also a climate-smart food. Many seafood species have a fraction of the carbon footprint of land-based protein. Shellfish like mussels and oysters help clean the water where they grow, providing ecosystem services while feeding people. As the world seeks lower-carbon diets, seafood should be a go-to solution.

And from a food security perspective, the ocean is a vast, underutilized resource. The Blue Food Assessment, a global scientific collaboration, has shown that sustainable expansion of aquatic foods could significantly improve nutrition security without overshooting environmental boundaries. In a world expected to reach nearly 10 billion people by 2050, we cannot afford to leave this potential food solution untapped.

So how do we make sure seafood gets a seat at the table in future food systems planning? A few clear steps can help:

We need to integrate seafood into national dietary guidelines and public health campaigns. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend eating seafood twice a week, yet 90 percent of Americans fall short. Emphasize public health messaging, available on Seafood Nutrition Partnership’s website, including seafood’s role in preventing chronic disease and supporting cognitive development.

It is necessary to ensure seafood is part of global food security convenings. When governments, philanthropies, investors, and NGOs gather to talk about the “future of food,” seafood must be on the agenda. Seafood and blue food should not be an afterthought; they should be front and center.

In addition, we need to build a bridge of understanding between agriculture, fisheries, and aquaculture. Develop shared language and principles for producing food on land and water sustainably in food systems planning. Some early promising work in this arena has begun at Walton Family Foundation.

The government needs to invest in seafood infrastructure. Building stronger domestic supply chains, both wild-capture and aquaculture, will reduce reliance on imports, create jobs, and strengthen food systems resilience.

And we need to correct the narrative on sustainability and safety. Policymakers and the public need to understand that most seafood available today in the U.S. is responsibly managed and safe to eat, and that great progress has been made in the last 20 years and continues rapidly in improving practices.

The truth is simple—what we eat matters for our health, our economy, and our planet. Seafood is not just another food group; it is an essential pillar of a resilient food system. Excluding seafood from discussions about the future of food is not only shortsighted, but also dangerous.

As leaders debate how to nourish billions more people in a warming world, they must recognize seafood’s unique role in delivering nutrition, supporting livelihoods, and protecting ecosystems.

If we want healthier children, stronger communities, and a food system that can stand the test of time, it’s time to bring seafood fully into food systems conversations.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Snehal Krishna

The post Op-Ed | Why the Future of Food Must Include Seafood appeared first on Food Tank.

Trump-Vance Administration Announces US$12 Billion Bailout for Farmers

The Trump-Vance Administration recently announced a US$12 billion farmer bailout during a White House roundtable, citing financial strain faced by producers following recent tariffs.

According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) press release, the package includes up to US$11 billion in one-time payments for row crop farmers growing commodities such as corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, and cotton through a new USDA Farmer Bridge Assistance program. The remaining funds will be allocated to commodities not covered by the program, including specialty crops and sugar, though payment timelines and formulas for those sectors are still being developed.

President Donald Trump repeatedly stated that the payments were funded by tariff revenue during the roundtable. However, the funding will come from the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation, a government financing mechanism that uses taxpayer dollars.

The announcement follows months of concern among farmers over rising input costs and uncertainty tied to trade policy, particularly for row crop producers. National Farmers Union President Rob Larew says that while the organization appreciates the assistance, “short-term payments, while important, are only a first step,” emphasizing the need for long-term structural reforms to stabilize family farms.

Applications for assistance will open in the coming weeks, according to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Eligible farmers can expect payments to be distributed by February 28, 2026.

UAE Announces AI Initiative to Support Farmers in Climate Crisis

The United Arab Emirates recently announced a new initiative designed to translate advanced research and artificial intelligence tools into practical support for farmers affected by extreme and unpredictable weather.

The platform, AI Ecosystem for Global Agricultural Development, builds on a US$200 million partnership between the UAE and the Gates Foundation announced at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, which aims to accelerate agricultural innovation.

The ecosystem is structured around four initiatives intended to guide implementation and deployment. One pillar, the CGIAR AI Hub, is intended to position Abu Dhabi as a center for AI-driven agricultural research using decades of global agricultural data. A second initiative, the Institute for Agriculture and Artificial Intelligence, will provide digital advisory services, training, and technical assistance to governments and non-governmental organizations.

A third component, AgriLLM, is an open-source agricultural large language model designed to improve global agricultural intelligence. The final initiative, AIM for Scale, focuses on AI-powered weather forecasting and advisory services, including recent deployments that delivered AI-supported monsoon forecasts to 38 million farmers in India in 2025.

“By connecting our national research and AI capabilities with leading global partners, we are turning science into real tools that reach people on the ground,” says Mariam Almheiri, Head of the International Affairs Office at the UAE Presidential Court.

EU Negotiators Agree to Relax Regulations on Gene-Edited Crops

European Union negotiators have agreed to ease regulations on crops developed using new gene-splicing practices, concluding that these plants should face fewer restrictions than traditional genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The agreement distinguishes between conventional GMOs, which insert genetic material from one species into another, and new genomic techniques (NGTs) that precisely add, remove, or alter small sections of a plant’s DNA.

Critics warn that the changes could strengthen corporate control over seeds, particularly as NGT crops become patentable. Franziska Achterberg of Save Our Seeds calls the agreement a “complete sell-out,” arguing it undermines the rights of farmers and consumers.

But lawmakers and other supporters argue that existing GMO rules have slowed innovation and that revised regulations could enable the development of crops that are more resilient to climate stress and require less land and fewer fertilizers and pesticides.

Under the deal, gene-edited crops will be divided into two categories. “NGT1” crops, which are modified to a limited degree and considered comparable to naturally occurring varieties, will be regulated like conventional crops and face looser requirements. “NGT2” crops, which involve more extensive genetic changes, will remain subject to the EU’s stricter GMO approval and labeling rules.

Before taking effect, the agreement must still be formally approved by both the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

Congressional Delegation Pushes for Action on PFAS

Maine’s congressional delegation is urging federal action to support farmers affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals that have contaminated farmland in the state and elsewhere.

U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree and U.S. Senator Susan Collins reintroduced the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act, which would authorize grants to states to address PFAS contamination on agricultural land. The legislation would allow states to use federal funds for soil and water testing, remediation efforts, and financial assistance for farmers who may need to relocate from contaminated land.

Additional eligible uses include monitoring PFAS levels in individuals’ blood, upgrading farm equipment to maintain operations, and supporting research into remediation strategies.

Pingree says the bill responds to an ongoing crisis, stating, “The PFAS crisis isn’t some theoretical or distant problem. It’s here, it’s growing, and it’s putting real pressure on farmers in Maine and across the country,” and described the measure as a “critical step” toward safeguarding farm operations.

The proposal builds on steps Maine has already taken, including becoming the first state to require manufacturers to report PFAS intentionally added to products.

Supporters including U.S. Senator Angus King, an original cosponsor of the bill, argue that federal involvement is needed to complement state programs and provide consistent assistance to farmers facing PFAS contamination nationwide.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Gabriel Oppenheimer, Unsplash

The post Food Tank’s Weekly News Roundup: U.S. Farm Bailout, Climate Tech for UAE Farmers, and Gene-Edited Crops in the EU appeared first on Food Tank.

The kind of systemic transformation we need to see is made possible by meaningful relationships between people, where we make decisions with other people’s well-being in mind. It’s made possible by broad societal collaboration between individuals, where we can break down silos and share knowledge.

This is certainly true here at Food Tank! As an organization powered by grassroots support from members around the globe, everything we do is made possible by you.

THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, to the community of members who have helped us uplift food system solutions all year long. If you’re not yet a member, I hope you’ll consider joining us by going to foodtank.com/join. Here’s a taste of what we’ve been able to do over the past year thanks to our global family of members:

In 2025, Food Tank has celebrated the intersection of food and the arts in major ways. During Summits at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT, and SXSW in Austin, TX, creative folks like chefs, filmmakers, farmers, advocates, and more convened to shine a spotlight on the power of environmental storytelling.

And at Climate Week NYC, each of our unprecedented 15 packed-house Summits began with a performance from Broadway stars—which injected much-needed beauty and hope into urgent discussions of climate action! We also staged a workshop reading of “Catalyst Coffee,” an original musical about labor organizing in the food service industry.

We were honored to bring success stories both to food-focused events—including Stop Food Waste Day, the annual National Food is Medicine Summit, and by hosting the official North America World Food Day celebration—and to discussions across disciplines. At symposiums around the world focusing on wellness, social justice, legal studies, and more, we showcased how food systems can connect the dots between unexpected and complex topics.

We also continued bringing food policy conversations directly to the places they matter most. In May, we headed to Washington, D.C., for a Capitol Hill luncheon event on how Food is Medicine can transform healthcare, convened the inaugural Food and Agriculture Policy Summit in October, and returned just yesterday ago for a luncheon exploring ultra-processed foods.

On the global scale, Food Tank brought nuanced discussions of food systems and policy to the U.K. for London Climate Action Week, to Ethiopia for the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake, and to Brazil for COP30, the landmark UN Climate Change Conference. There, we organized a robust lineup of programming to engage agricultural ministers, negotiators, farmers, climate journalists, civil society and business leaders, funders, and more to ensure that these decision-makers recognize the importance of food and agriculture action.

In addition, we have also continued to publish daily articles, deliver this newsletter straight to your inbox, and release weekly episodes of our podcast “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg.”

There is no food system without the individual farmers, ranchers, farmworkers, food processors, factory workers, packagers, truck drivers, seed savers, chefs, business owners, food justice advocates, and countless other hardworking, passionate folks up and down the food chain. It’s also no exaggeration to say that Food Tank wouldn’t be Food Tank without each and every Food Tanker like you!

Food Tank members receive exclusive access to Food Tank Summits, even when they are sold out to the public; invitations to special virtual members-only discussions with food system luminaries; and other tokens of our appreciation throughout the year. Your support also means that we can continue to make most of our programming completely free to attend and livestream these events for our global audience. I hope you’ll take a moment to check out our accessible membership options HERE to launch or boost your support.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Kemper, Unsplash

The post Food Systems Transformation in 2026 Will Be Powered by People appeared first on Food Tank.

DC Central Kitchen (DCCK), a nonprofit combating hunger and poverty, operates Healthy Corners to deliver fresh and affordable produce to corner stores in D.C.’s low access communities. When the organization decided to help stores expand their offerings, they felt that Stanton Supermarket was best fit for the project.

“Their consistent participation, their vision for creating increased access to produce in their community…and their proximity to residential areas, schools, and public transportation,” made Stanton a top candidate, Yael Reichler, the Director of Healthy Corners, tells Food Tank.

The new department is “an investment in our community’s health,” store owner Yonas Haile tells Food Tank. Haile says the expansion responds to a need for more “visible and convenient” healthy food options in the neighborhood.

Stanton Supermarket is situated within a neighborhood of Washington D.C.’s Ward 8 community, an area home to more than 85,000 residents. For this population—81 percent of whom are Black—there is only one full-service grocery store, according to DC Hunger Solutions’ 2024 Report. Comparatively, on the opposite side of the District is Ward 3, a predominantly White neighborhood with a smaller population size but almost double the income average, and 15 full service grocery stores.

LaMonika Jones, Director of DC Hunger Solutions—an initiative of FRAC—cautions against calling Ward 8 a food desert. “A food desert is a naturally occurring part of our ecosystem,” Jones notes, preferring the term food apartheid, which contextualizes the lack of fresh food in low-income neighborhoods as deliberate, discriminatory policy decisions. “We want to speak to the reason and the cause of the ongoing disinvestment.”

Jones believes that addressing food apartheid is foundational to the Healthy Corners program. Stanton Supermarket is the first of the 56 participating corner stores in the program to expand its infrastructure at this scale. They have grown from one open-air fridge to an additional five full-sized refrigerators, two freezers, and robust shelving – all dedicated to produce. Roughly 30 percent is sourced from local farms.

Jones says the Stanton Supermarket model supports a “community nutrition approach,” enabling customers to meet all their food needs in one place instead of shopping for different types of products, using different benefits, at multiple locations.

Stanton Supermarket accepts both the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). They also offer a SNAP Match program—funded by the USDA and run by Healthy Corners—that allows SNAP shoppers to earn US$5 coupons toward more produce when they buy just one piece. Reichler hopes the expanded produce offerings will help eaters better maximize the SNAP Match program, at a time when it is most needed.

Following the end of pandemic-era emergency allotments and a temporary local benefit in 2024, the minimum monthly SNAP allotment for D.C. households has dropped to US$24. And new research from the Urban Institute projects that cuts to SNAP in the reconciliation bill could cost families about 40 meals per month, on average.

A policy brief from the National WIC Association also warns that the Bill may create higher barriers for women with SNAP and Medicaid to maintain eligibility for WIC benefits.

“With food access and benefit challenges increasing, the Stanton Supermarket produce department provides a consistent and reliable place for the community to purchase quality fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables,” Reichler tells Food Tank.

Choice is also important, Jones says, stating that clients consistently ask for a variety of fresh produce, greater access, and high quality.

And Reichler says Stanton is responding to these demands—that’s why it’s a success. One neighbor “felt like we had provided a dignified display, and she proceeded to call her family member to give her a virtual tour of the new offerings,” Reichler recalls, noting that customers frequently report that stores’ investment in their community informs their choice of where to shop.

“Listen to your customers…expanding produce isn’t just good business,” Haile tells Food Tank, “It builds trust and strengthens community relationships.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of D.C. Central Kitchen

The post Local Corner Store Expands D.C. Food Access appeared first on Food Tank.