The Institute will award a total of up to $90,000. Academic and community leaders from the U.S. and Canada are invited to apply for the program, in which teams will design, implement and evaluate community-based projects that drive the sustainability of local food systems, according to the release.
Four teams will be selected to implement their projects and amplify their messages to a broader audience, Danone said. The initiative will provide seed funding for projects such as pilot studies, feasibility testing, needs assessments, and planning grants.
“The ‘One Planet. One Health’ Initiative grant program is about bringing together the next generation of thought leaders in sustainable food systems, to support them in creating a healthier world through food," said Miguel Freitas, Ph.D., Vice President, Scientific Affairs for Danone North America. "As a food company and a Certified B Corporation, we have a responsibility to seek food systems solutions that benefit the public. Supporting scholars and practitioners who are advancing this work gives us a chance to learn from one another."
Grant recipients will attend a four-day program in Boulder, CO, with training on sustainable food systems, implementation science, communication, nutrition, and economics. The program will also feature presentations and panels of community stakeholders involved in the food sustainability ecosystem.
In 2019, project topics included urban agriculture, household food waste reduction, local food options for school menus, and energy-efficient food production in food-insecure neighborhoods, according to the release.Grant winners in 2019included teams from the University of Guelph and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, as well as non-profit organizations Project New Village in San Diego and the City of Minneapolis.This year, past participants will play a role, said Leslie Lytle, President of Danone Institute North America and Professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “The first year of the ‘One Planet. One Health’ Initiative grant program showed us that academic and community-based teams representing a wide range of practices, fields of study, and experiences can work together to uncover innovative solutions to food systems challenges," Lytle explained. “Now in our second year we look forward to expanding the network of sustainable food systems leaders by inviting the first class of participants to share their lessons and successes with the new award recipients. We encourage all practitioners and scholars interested in being change agents for sustainable food systems to submit a project idea that brings together both human health and environmental stewardship.”
