Our national food supply is susceptible to major systems disruptions, and in a climate-changing world, this is a critical moment for global food vulnerability. Canada is poised to take a leadership role in the future of food: with sustainability and resiliency top-of-mind, how can we feed all Canadians?

The Homegrown Innovation Challenge, funded and delivered by the Weston Family Foundation, is working to answer this question by planting the seeds of possibility. The applicants will address the interconnected challenges related to growing berries out-of-season, and catalyze a range of solutions relevant to a broad array of fruit and vegetable crops in Canada and around the world.

Download our press release here.

The Weston Family Foundation is pleased to announce the judging panel for the Homegrown Innovation Challenge. The panel, chaired by Dominic Barton, is made up of prestigious members from around the world with expertise in food system stability and agriculture technology.

The independent judging panel includes the following members:

• Dominic Barton (Chair), Canada;
•  David Babson, United States;
•  Achim Dobermann, Germany;
•  Hicham Fatnassi, United Arab Emirates;
•  Jennifer Grenz, Canada;
•  Molly Jahn, United States; and
• Sarai Kemp, Israel.

“Collectively, the members of our panel offer a breadth of experience in food systems innovation and will be instrumental in helping teams conceptualize and bring sustainable, locally-grown food production solutions to market,” said Emma Adamo, chair, Weston Family Foundation.

“We’re grateful to each member for their time and commitment to ensure top innovations are unearthed throughout the Challenge.”

Read the full press release here.

Challenge sets out to future-proof food production in Canada

The Weston Family Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of its $33-million Homegrown Innovation Challenge to spark creative solutions and encourage new ideas to boost the sustainable production of fruits and vegetables in Canada.

The Challenge centres around a competition to generate solutions that enable domestic food producers to grow berries out of season, sustainably, competitively, and at scale. Funding will be awarded in stages over a six-year period to eligible teams developing tools and technologies that solve the interconnected challenges of growing produce out of season in Canada.

See the press release here

See the Media Backgrounder here