Danone Institute North America is accepting proposals for the 2023-2025 DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative - formerly called One Planet. One Health. The initiative will offer $260,000 in funding to up to five multi-disciplinary teams, which will be tasked with designing, implementing and evaluating actionable community-based projects for sustainable food systems that improve human health and nutrition.
Each of the five finalists will receive $50,000 to support and expand their project, while an additional $10,000 will be granted to the team with the strongest communications plan. 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.
Leslie Lytle, PhD, president of the board of directors at Danone Institute North America and adjunct professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (US), commented: “We encourage educators, researchers and activists interested in sparking innovation to apply and share their vision for actionable, transdisciplinary, community-based efforts that integrate sustainable food systems with human health and nutrition. The [initiative] provides essential funding for upstart projects, especially in under-resourced areas, enabling local leaders from diverse backgrounds to turn their singular project into a lasting program.”
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), said: “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. 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.”
Proposals can be submitted through June 14, 2023, at 11:59pm EDT. To learn more about the grant program and to submit an application, visit www.danoneinstituteNA.org.
