Danone Institute North America announces a request for proposals for a new award as part of its partnership with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR). Danone Institute North America (DINA) is a nonprofit innovation center managed by Danone North America, a subsidiary of the global food and beverage company Danone, which has a mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible. Danone believes that the health of people and the health of the planet are inseparable. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to build public-private partnerships that fund bold food and agriculture research. Over the past decade, FFAR has funded hundreds of grants and worked with more than 550 partners across the food and agriculture value chain to advance agricultural innovation The two purpose-driven organizations have partnered to expand DINA’s current Sustainable Food Systems Initiative grant program into a new grant program that demonstrates the link between agriculture, the food supply, and health.

The DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative (SFSI) Focus on Food is a competitive program co-funded by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) that will select and fund up to three US or Canadian-based transdisciplinary teams in 2025. Projects may focus on designing and pilot testing action-oriented, community-based programs or etiological research aimed at understanding the factors that influence individuals or groups to 1) enhance or adopt sustainable food systems, 2) improve access to the local food supply, 3) build community self-sufficiency for meeting food need, or 4) support soil health and climate related activities. Projects that reach underserved local populations will be given priority consideration. Teams designing community-based programs also must identify and evaluate pre-specified outcomes of their work that support impact and show the potential for scalability or wider use.

Funding from this initiative can be used for various types of replicable, scalable projects and can include pilot studies, feasibility testing, needs assessments or quantitative or qualitative methods to understand factors influencing individuals or groups to engage in enhancing or adopting more sustainable food system approaches. Each selected team will receive a USD $50,000 SFSI Focus on Food grant to implement its project and amplify its message to a broader audience over a two-year period. Teams may use this grant mechanism to supplement current funding from other sources, but new project aims must be developed for the SFSI Focus on Food funding.

As part of SFSI Focus on Food, selected teams must participate in a four-day in-person program June 22-26, 2025, in Boulder, CO. The objectives of this program are to provide expertise and support for enhancing SFSI Focus on Food projects through project-specific communication and evaluation assistance, and to facilitate the development of a community of practice among award recipients to share ideas, offer support, and create a grassroots movement toward sustainable food systems that improve the climate, human health, and nutrition. Programming will include content on the relationship between sustainable food systems and human health and nutrition; a communications training; presentations and panels of community stakeholders involved in the sustainable food ecosystem; and panels and group discussions among the selected teams. Some portions of programming will overlap with recipients of SFSI nutrition grants and other programming will focus exclusively on issues around climate, soil health and sustainable food systems. The Danone Institute North America will cover the costs of this in-person programming, including transportation, meals and lodging for up to four team members.

The in-person program will be followed by virtual team presentations from SFSI and SFSI Focus on Food recipient teams on their project’s communication plan to a panel of experts. The team that presents the strongest communication plan as determined by the panel will be awarded an additional USD 10,000 prize to apply toward expanded communications.

The awards will cover a 24-month period for the active project and evaluation by the team regarding the project’s impact. Throughout this period, the teams will receive assistance by Danone Institute North America Board members to facilitate implementation, evaluation, and communication of their projects. Opportunities to stay connected with other award recipients will also be provided. The outcomes of funded projects will be communicated to the Danone Institute North America networks and broader groups of external stakeholders.

To be eligible for this initiative, each team must meet the following requirements:

• Teams should include four core team members representing diverse disciplines related to food systems, including, but not limited to, agriculture, urban planning, nutrition, health, economics, community food access and social, behavioral, or environmental sciences. All team members must actively work together on the project rather than serving exclusively in an advisory role.
• Teams can include up to two members from a team that received a 2019, 2021, or 2023 Sustainable Food Systems Initiative grant and must include at least two new team members.
• At least one team member must be a faculty member from a U.S. or Canadian institution of higher education. It is recommended that the faculty member be the lead or co-lead of the project. The team may include other academic members, other professionals, practitioners such as dining directors, farmers, environmental advocates, community leaders and/or agricultural experts.
• One team member must have expertise/experience in program evaluation. A quantitative or qualitative evaluation of project aims is required.
• While more team members may be involved, only four will attend the in-person program in June 2025. To the extent possible, the four team members named in the application should be the team members who will be attending the program.

Proposals are due Friday, February 14, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EST. Proposals must include the following components; proposals lacking one or more of these elements will not be considered:

1. A description of the project (limited to 2,000 words)
   • Specific aims: What are the objectives of this project?
   • Relationship between improved soil health, food systems, and health and nutrition: How do the goals of this project relate to improving soil health or sustainable agricultural practices or enhance food systems in a way that increases food access, health, and equity for a localized or regional population?
   • For etiological research projects: How will the findings of this project further the understanding of the connection between sustainable agriculture and planetary health?
   • For community action programs: How will the effectiveness of the project be determined? What outcomes are realistic for the project and how will they be measured?
   • Plans for designing and implementing the project, including a timeline: What will the project look like and what is the timeline for activities?
   • Plans for evaluation, including a description of quantitative or qualitative methods to be used and related metrics or measurement tools.
   • A description of the broader community or venue that will be participating in and impacted by this project: What community groups will the project engage? How will community capacity be built through this project?
   • A communications plan that includes plans to amplify project results to a broader audience: How will the results of the project be communicated?
   • A description of the broader community or venue that will be participating in and impacted by this project: What adult community groups will the project engage? How will the health and nutrition of the adult community benefit from participation in this project?
   • A communications plan that includes plans to amplify project results to a broader audience: How will the results of the project be communicated?
   • The transdisciplinary nature of the project: What disciplines or stakeholder groups are involved with the project?
2. A detailed budget for a two-year project that includes how the funds will be spent throughout the project. Indirect or overhead costs may not be included in the budget and funding does not allow for faculty salary support.
3. CV/resume of each of the team members who will attend the four-day program.

• Strength of project proposal in addressing the specific objectives of the DINA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative Focus on Food.
• Relevance and importance of the project objectives, feasibility of implementing the project and plans and ability to assess outcomes.
• Evidence of required skills and resources to successfully complete the proposed project.
• Evidence of a transdisciplinary team.
• Value to the field as it relates to the amplification potential and connection to the nutritional health of populations.
• Budget appropriate to the work.