Inaugural US$25m food insecurity challenge
27 February 2023 at 2:18 pm
50 not-for-profit organisations worldwide, including in Australia, will be vying for half a million US dollars each, aiming to strengthen the health of underserved and marginalised communities.
Citi Foundation will provide US$25 million to support not-for-profit organisations around the world that are developing innovative solutions to improving food security.
The inaugural Global Innovation Challenge aims to boost the physical and financial health of low-income families and communities, and help scale the impact of not-for-profit organisations addressing this crisis.
Citi will award US$500,000 over two years to 50 not-for-profit organisations in communities around the world where the foundation is located, including Australia.
See more: 2m+ households ran out of food in the last year: Foodbank
Inflationary pressures, civil unrest, natural disasters and record high food prices, among other factors, have contributed to 770 million people suffering from some form of malnutrition around the world, costing the global economy as much as $3.5 trillion each year, according to the Citi GPS Food Security report.
“Far too many families around the world face the daily struggle of not knowing when and where their next meal will come from,” said Citi Foundation president Brandee McHale.
“We understand the economic factors that contribute to this ever-growing crisis, and our goal with this [challenge] is to help empower diverse, mission-driven nonprofits that are pioneering game-changing, scalable solutions in their communities.”
The grants must be used to support the piloting or expansion of ideas and projects in four key areas which aim to improve access to food for low-income communities, reduce the financial burden on vulnerable families, and increase community resilience.
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Liza Henshaw, president of international anti-poverty activism platform Global Citizen, said “the food security crisis is one of the most urgent issues our world is facing today”.
“Having proudly partnered with Citi for over 10 years, we have seen first-hand the positive impact the Citi Foundation has had helping lift underserved communities out of poverty. This global initiative is going to provide much needed funding to industrious organisations working to combat food scarcity with the innovative solutions we desperately need.”
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Successful organisations will also be connected to Citi subject matter experts and volunteers, and will participate in a range of learning opportunities to promote best practice on food security.
The challenge adds to past philanthropic work from Citi Foundation on this issue, including most recently providing financial aid to not-for-profit international development organisation Crown Agents to purchase and deliver nutritional support for premature infants in Ukraine amidst the conflict.
Citi Foundation seeks to disburse grant payments later this year, with registrations for the challenge closing 22 March 2023.
