What Food Systems for the Future does

Food Systems for the Future Institute (FSF) is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and policy institute founded between 2019 and 2021 (date conflict in source data) that works to drive equitable access to affordable, nutritious food. The organization is led by CEO and Managing Director Ertharin Cousin, former Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (2012-2017) and former U.S. Ambassador to UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture. FSF operates across five strategic pillars — Partnerships and Coalition Building, Policy Engagement and Advocacy, Nutrition Awareness, Business Operations, and Finance — and targets service providers, independent grocery retailers, policymakers, advocacy organizations, and grocery innovation entrepreneurs as its primary constituencies.

FSF's core offerings are programmatic and intellectual rather than software-based. They include the annual Grocery Retail for All Summit (launched 2024, with the 2026 edition scheduled for June 18 at University of Illinois Chicago's Dorin Forum), the Grocery Retail Resilience & Innovation Award (a $50,000 top prize plus five $10,000 awards), a portfolio of publications and research reports on food systems transformation, and proprietary Nutrition Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) tools. FSF also co-convenes the Good Food Finance Network with EAT Forum, WBCSD, UN Environment Programme, and FAIRR, and co-coordinates the Food, Nutrition and Health Investor Coalition. Internationally, FSF has partnered with the Rwanda Ministry of Agriculture on an insect protein facility.

FSF is funded primarily through foundation grants and donations from a network that includes the Rockefeller Foundation, Seeding the Future Foundation, Margot L. Pritzker Fund, Builders Vision, Walmart.org, Stanford University, the Institute of Food Technologists, and Greater Chicago Food Depository. The only publicly quantified grant inflow is a $250,000 award from IFT and Seeding the Future Foundation in December 2022. The organization generates modest ancillary income through paid Summit registration and deploys capital via the Innovation Award rather than operating a fee-for-service revenue model. There are no disclosed revenue figures, no parent organization, and no commercial product pricing in the source material.

Name

Food Systems for the Future

Legal name

Food Systems for the Future Institute

Website

https://fsfinstitute.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Food Systems for the Future is a Chicago-based nonprofit research and policy institute that convenes grocery retailers, policymakers, and food-system entrepreneurs around equitable nutrition access, operating the annual Grocery Retail for All Summit, an Innovation Award program, and the Good Food Finance Network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Systems Research & Policy

akta.pro primary industry

Food Systems & Value Chain Development for Nutrition (BPADAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Nutrition, Dietary Management & Allergen/Accommodation Services (EDALADAJ)

Keywords

• Food systems research
• Nutrition policy advocacy
• Food security programs
• Grocery retail access
• Sustainable food finance

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants and Donations: FSF receives funding from foundations and donors including Rockefeller Foundation, Seeding the Future Foundation, Margot L. Pritzker Fund, Builders Vision, and others to support its research, events, and policy work.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Food Systems for the Future Institute is a nonprofit research and policy organization that fosters partnerships, conducts research, publishes reports, and advocates for policy to advance equitable access to affordable, nutritious food. Its primary offerings are the annual Grocery Retail for All Summit, the Grocery Retail Resilience & Innovation Award program, the Good Food Finance Network coalition, and a portfolio of publications and Nutrition Impact Measurement tools addressing food system transformation.

Product overview

Food Systems for the Future Institute (FSFI) is a nonprofit organization focused on building sustainable food systems for a malnutrition-free world. Rather than a traditional SaaS product company, FSFI operates as a research, education, and policy institute offering programs, events, and publications. Its core offerings include the annual Grocery Retail for All Summit, the Grocery Retail Resilience & Innovation Award program, and a portfolio of research publications addressing food systems transformation. The organization structures its work around five strategic pillars: Partnerships and Coalition Building, Policy Engagement and Advocacy, Nutrition Awareness, Business Operations, and Finance. These offerings work together to foster impactful partnerships and drive innovative research, education, and policy action to develop transformative solutions ensuring equitable access to affordable, nutritious food.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Grocery Retail for All Summit: Annual national summit bringing together retailers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, and community leaders to discuss challenges and advancements in expanding grocery access in underserved communities.
• Grocery Retail Resilience & Innovation Award
• Good Food Finance Network

Products and services

• Grocery Retail for All Summit An annual national convening that brings together retailers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, and community leaders to discuss challenges and advancements in expanding grocery retail access in underserved communities. The Summit serves as a platform for collaboration on funding, partnerships, and policy actions to ensure nutritious food is available, affordable, and accessible.
• Grocery Retail Resilience & Innovation Award An award program that recognizes leaders, entrepreneurs, and organizations advancing innovations that help grocery stores serving low-income and historically underinvested communities become more resilient, sustainable, and profitable. Includes a top prize of $50,000 and five awards of $10,000.
• Publications and Research Reports A collection of research publications, white papers, articles, and reports addressing sustainable food systems transformation, including topics such as protein sustainability, grocery retail access, agrifood systems amid climate crisis, and food as medicine approaches.
• Good Food Finance Network A network of high-level leaders, technical experts, and agropreneurs from finance, business, and public sector promoting investment and providing finance solutions for sustainable food systems.
• Nutrition Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) Tools Science-based, pragmatic tools to quantitatively measure and practically report the nutrition impacts of food system interventions, with a focus on underserved and low-income communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80 million people reached annually through former UN WFP leadership
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 April 2024Signed Memorandum of Understanding with FSF to advance mutual goals around food systems transformation and nutrition security.
• University of Illinois ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of the 2026 Grocery Retail for All Summit. Provides venue (Dorin Forum) and academic partnership for the national convening on grocery retail in underserved communities.
• Harvard Food Law & Policy CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of the 2026 Grocery Retail for All Summit, contributing policy expertise and academic rigor to food system discussions and grocery retail resilience initiatives.
• The Food TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of the 2026 Grocery Retail for All Summit. The Food Trust is a nonprofit working to ensure everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food.
• Global Food Institute at George Washington UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of the 2026 Grocery Retail for All Summit and partner on the 2024 Grocery Retail for All Summit. Contributes academic leadership and food policy expertise.
• Greater Chicago Food DepositorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor and co-host partner of the 2026 Grocery Retail for All Summit. The food bank serves as a key stakeholder in Chicago's food access ecosystem.
• Food TankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSF CEO Ertharin Cousin co-founded Food Tank with Danielle Nierenberg. The organizations collaborate on food systems research and advocacy, with Food Tank's president moderating panels at FSF summits.
• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with FSF on the 'Rethinking Protein for a Sustainable Planet' webinar and co-authored reports on agrifood systems transformation and methane mitigation.
• Food, Nutrition and Health Investor Coalition (FNHIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSF co-convenes this coalition which builds on the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health momentum to accelerate financing and private sector accountability toward nutrition goals.
• Stanford UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSF CEO Ertharin Cousin serves as a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University. Stanford is listed among FSF's funding partners.
• Good Food Finance NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSF co-coordinated this network of high-level leaders from finance, business, and public sector working to promote investment and provide finance solutions for sustainable food systems.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Food Tank: Food Tank is a nonprofit think tank and media organization focused on sustainable agriculture, food systems, and policy advocacy. Co-founded by FSF CEO Ertharin Cousin and Danielle Nierenberg, it shares overlapping leadership, missions, and event programming with FSF, making it the closest direct peer.
• The Food Trust: The Food Trust is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit focused on ensuring equitable access to affordable, nutritious food through policy, partnerships, and on-the-ground programs. It is a co-host of FSF's Grocery Retail for All Summit and operates with an almost identical mission to FSF around grocery access in underserved communities.
• Global Food Institute at George Washington University: GW's Global Food Institute is an academic-policy institute focused on food system transformation, food insecurity, and nutrition security. Co-hosted the inaugural 2024 Grocery Retail for All Summit with FSF, placing it in a near-identical role in the food systems ecosystem.
• EAT Forum: EAT is a nonprofit foundation connecting science, policy, and business to transform food systems, co-convening the Good Food Finance Network with FSF. Comparability is high given shared convening role across food systems and similar stakeholder base.
• Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI): ATNI is a nonprofit that benchmarks the world's largest food and beverage companies on nutrition commitments and performance. Signed an MOU with FSF in April 2024, indicating direct alignment on private-sector accountability for nutrition outcomes.

Emerging players

• ReFED: ReFED is a nonprofit that leverages data and insights to drive action against food waste and loss across the U.S. food system. Operates in a closely adjacent niche to FSF, sharing the food-systems lens but with a narrower focus on waste reduction and supply-chain efficiency.
• Environmental Defense Fund (Food and Agriculture): EDF's food and agriculture program collaborates with FSF on protein sustainability webinars and methane mitigation reports. Operates at much larger scale but shares overlap on sustainable food systems transformation work.
• FAIRR Initiative: FAIRR is a collaborative investor network that addresses environmental and social risks in protein supply chains and food systems. Co-convenes the Good Food Finance Network alongside FSF and shares a capital-allocation focused approach to food systems.

Broad incumbents

• World Food Programme USA: WFP USA is the U.S. fundraising and advocacy arm of the UN World Food Programme, where FSF CEO Ertharin Cousin previously served as Executive Director. Operates at far larger scale but addresses overlapping issues of food security, hunger, and nutrition.

Others

• Rockefeller Foundation (Food Initiative): The Rockefeller Foundation's food initiative is one of FSF's major funders and a primary architect of the sustainable food systems agenda. Comparable as a strategic funder and thought leader, though a foundation rather than an operating peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/food-systems-for-the-future
• Xx.com/TheFSFInstitute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Food Systems for the Future