Ten proposals from around the world have been named finalists in the Food System Vision Prize, a US$2 million challenge that highlights inspiring and actionable visions for food system change.
The Rockefeller Foundation launched the prize in partnership with SecondMuse and OpenIDEO to answer the question, “How might we envision regenerative and nourishing food futures for 2050?” Out of more than 1,300 proposals submitted, they said, successful ones were rooted in local food system transformation and themes of environment, diets, economics, culture, technology, and policy. Resilience was also an important factor, as all proposals were submitted before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.
“These Visions are a great example of the importance of—and opportunity for—innovation during a crisis,” Roy Steiner, Senior Vice President of the Food Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation, said in a statement. “This is even more urgent given the severe stresses placed on food systems as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to seeing how they move their ideas from Vision to action.”
All 10 finalists are invited to participate in a three-month accelerator program, which begins in September. They will have access to mentorship and support from partner organizations to engage stakeholders and refine plans to implement their visions. After the accelerator period ends in December, all 10 finalists will be eligible to be named Top Visionaries and receive a US$200,000 prize.
These 10 finalists were selected from a pool of 76 semi-finalists that participated in the refinement phase of the Prize this summer. Finalists range across eight countries in five continents:
7Gen Food System, spearheaded by members of the Sicangu Lakota nation, aims to build a more regenerative agricultural system on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
Arakunomics seeks to empower local communities to ensure fair wages for farmers and end nutrition insecurity in three diverse regions of India: Araku, Wardha, and New Delhi.
Eat Right is organized by agencies in the Indian government, who hope it will become a national movement focused on improving diet quality, reducing food waste, and improving sanitation in the food value chain.
Food Innovation Nervecenter, based in Lagos, Nigeria, brings together governmental bodies, universities, media organizations, farmer coalitions, youth councils, and more to address six urgent regional challenges.
From Mama’s Kitchen to Metropolitan Beijing encourages home cooks, restaurants, food courts and kiosks, and other food providers to shift to plant-based diets as a way to improve health and reduce carbon emissions.
Kwayeskastasowin Wahkohtowin aims to create a just and sustainable agrifood system while addressing the process of decolonization and reconciliation between Indigenous and settler populations.
Lima 2035 imagines a regenerative and nourishing food oasis by 2035, with the aim of securing climate-resilient running water for all in Lima’s fragile desert environment.
Re-Rooting the Dutch Food System — From More to Better calls for a holistic transformation of the food system in the Netherlands into one organized around a circular economy.
Restoring Nairobi to “A Place of Cool Waters” is a collaboration of Kenyan government officials, researchers, NGOs, businesses, and development experts who are rethinking food production and access in urban spaces.
Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is a working farm in upstate New York that aims to continue encouraging collaborations between chefs and farmers in what it calls the “R&D lab for an ecological food culture.”
