Danone Institute North America Seeks Grant Proposals for Sustainable Food Systems Initiatives

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Danone Institute North America (DINA), a nonprofit foundation managed by Danone North America, a purpose-led food and beverage CPG leader and a Certified B Corporation, announced a request for proposals for the fourth offering of its DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative. A new funding relationship with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) expands the offering by providing funding for three additional grants this year, for a total of eight potential grants. DINA is now accepting grant proposals from eligible applicants in the U.S. and Canada.

The 2025-2027 initiative commits a total of $410,000 in funding, its largest contribution to date, split across eight total grants. Five of the grants will be awarded to five transdisciplinary teams that demonstrate a commitment to actionable and achievable projects contributing to the nutritional health of adult populations. An additional three new grants, funded by FFAR, will go to three teams whose projects focus on agriculture communities.

Over the two-year grant period, grantees will be challenged to design, implement, and evaluate actionable community-based projects for sustainable food systems that improve human health and nutrition. Each of the eight grantee teams will receive $50,000 to support and expand their project. All grantees will also have the opportunity to participate in a communications training workshop to learn how to effectively amplify the work they're doing across North America. An additional $10,000 will be granted in the fall of 2025 to the team with the strongest communications plan.

"We encourage educators, researchers and activists interested in sparking innovation to apply and share their vision for actionable, transdisciplinary, community-based efforts that promote the nutritional health of populations across the adult lifespan," said Leslie Lytle, PhD, President, Board of Directors, Danone Institute North America, and Adjunct Professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (U.S.). "The DINA Sustainable Food Systems and new Focus on Food Initiatives provides essential funding for pilot projects, especially in under-resourced areas, enabling local leaders from diverse backgrounds to turn their innovative ideas into a lasting program."

"Promoting sustainable, healthy food systems requires collaborations between consumers, communities and agricultural partners," said Dr. LaKisha Odom, FFAR scientific program director for agroecosystems. "FFAR is proud to partner with DINA to fund these opportunities encouraging nutritional health."

Prospective teams must include four members representing relevant diverse disciplines related to food systems, including but not limited to nutrition, health, economics, agriculture, community food access and social, behavioral or environmental sciences. At least one team member must be a current academic faculty member.

The Danone Institute North America first launched its grant program in 2019 to support local projects that strengthen food systems, reflecting Danone's belief that the health of people and the health of the planet are interconnected. Previous grants have funded projects such as food-upcycling programs for colleges, food and nutrition kits for food insecure post-partum mothers, energy-efficient food production, and supporting local food growers and farmers.

"The support we received from the DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative enabled our dedicated team to conduct real-world testing on the impact of household food waste and pilot a four-week food waste reduction program in our local community," said Jess Haines, PhD, MHSc, RD, Associate Professor in the Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario (Canada). "The additional funding allowed us to supplement our original programming with vital educational tools to help families heighten their understanding around food waste, prevent spoilage and ultimately provide a more sustainable approach to healthy eating."

Danone Institute North America is accepting proposals for the 2025-2027 DINA Sustainable Food Systems and the new Focus on Foods Initiatives through February 14, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. EST. To learn more about the grant program and to submit an application, visit www.danoneinstituteNA.org.

On November 20, 2024 at 12 PM EST, FFAR will host an informational webinar that will provide an overview of the Sustainable Food Systems Initiative, the Request for Applications, application components and timelines, and will include time for Q&As. Registration is required; you can register to receive a Zoom link here.