The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger I Zero Waste Foundation Innovation Fund
The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation Innovation Fund is excited to announce an investment-readiness program for U.S.-based startups working to prevent, recover and recycle food waste. We are proud to collaborate with Village Capital.
The Innovation Fund will award grant funding to emerging technologies and solutions. Innovators will benefit from Village Capital’s award-winning curriculum, intensive feedback from their peers and one-on-one mentorship with potential customers, investors and industry experts.
Meet the Cohort
About the Program
Ten startups will participate in a virtual workshop focused on investment readiness, technical skill development and networking with a community of investors and mentors who work in and around the food system. The virtual one week workshop will take place in May 2021.
The innovators will benefit from an additional 6 months of Milestone Planning and Support, with an opportunity to present their startups and highlight major achievements to an audience of investors and key stakeholders at a Venture Forum Event in November 2021.
To learn more about how we developed the challenge and food systems innovation, read the market assessment here.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
- Philip BehnCEO, Imperfect Foods
- Adam Behrens Co-Founder & CEO, Mori
- Sharon BortSenior Officer, Sustainability Community, MIT Solve
- Tony BovaCo-Founder & CEO, mobius
- Emily Broad LeibClinical Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
- Dan ButtSenior Manager of Innovation, Feeding America
- Alexandria CoariVice President, Capital & Innovation, ReFED
- Ertharin CousinPresident and Co-Founder, Food Systems for the Future
- Stephanie DorseyCo-Founder, Managing Partner, E²JDJ
- Hannah FriedmanAssociate, Closed Loop Partners
- Ingrid FungInvestment Director (Principal), Finistere Ventures
- Jody KalmbachGroup Vice President, Product Experience, The Kroger Co.
- Audre KapacinskasVice President, S2G Ventures
- Devon KlatellManaging Director, Food, The Rockefeller Foundation
- Lucyna KurtykaSenior Scientific Program Director, Foundation for Food and Agriculture (FFAR)
- Emily MaHead, Food for Good, Google
- Thomas McQuillanVice President, Sales, Baldor Specialty Foods, Inc.
- Pete NelsonPresident & Executive Director, AgLaunch
- Danielle NierenbergPresident, Food Tank
- Pete PearsonSenior Director, Food Waste, World Wildlife Fund
- Tad RadzinskiPresident, Sustainable Solutions Corporation
- Allison ShapiroExecutive Director, Closed Loop Partners
- Mary ShelmanFounder, Shelman Group
- Darien SturgesUS Global Partnerships Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
- Jessica VieiraSenior Director, Sustainability, Apeel Sciences
- Turner WyattCEO, Upcycled Food Association
- Marc ZornesFounder, Winnow
Do you want to mentor?
Join our growing network of mentors here.
Are you an investor?
If you are an investor interested in supporting innovators who are elevating food to its highest use and disrupting the linear supply chain, join The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger I Zero Waste Foundation Investor Coalition.
Investors in the Coalition can source, assess, share and fund investment-ready opportunities quickly and efficiently with Abaca & support from the Village Capital team.