The Journey Starts Now
By 2050, it is estimated that the Earth’s population will top 9 billion. This growing
population will undeniably stress our food systems, natural resources, and ecosystems.
But consider this: Currently, we waste up to 40 percent of our food globally. In the United
States, this equals roughly 400 pounds annually for every American. Meanwhile, one in
seven Americans are food insecure.
These stunning facts—partnered with seeing waste occur firsthand through our work
with our operating farm and the restaurants and grocery stores it services—really
brought this issue home for us. This prompted us as philanthropists and a family
concerned about healthy communities and ecological sustainability to ask our team to
explore the topic of wasted food.
Through our family foundation, we have been focused on solving large-scale
environmental issues with market-based solutions since 2001. We started by looking at
how funding solutions to climate change, both through grants and impact investments,
can play an important role in transitioning our society to a low-carbon economy.