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 Behn
CEO, Imperfect Foods
Adam Behrens
Co-Founder & CEO, Mori
Sharon Bort
Senior Officer, Sustainability Community, MIT Solve
Tony Bova
Co-Founder & CEO, mobius
Emily Broad Leib
Clinical Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Dan Butt
Senior Manager of Innovation, Feeding America
Alexandria Coari
Vice President, Capital & Innovation, ReFED
Ertharin Cousin
President and Co-Founder, Food Systems for the Future
Stephanie Dorsey
Co-Founder, Managing Partner, E²JDJ
Hannah Friedman
Associate, Closed Loop Partners
Ingrid Fung
Investment Director (Principal), Finistere Ventures
Jody Kalmbach
Group Vice President, Product Experience, The Kroger Co.
Audre Kapacinskas
Vice President, S2G Ventures
Devon Klatell
Managing Director, Food, The Rockefeller Foundation
Lucyna Kurtyka
Senior Scientific Program Director, Foundation for Food and Agriculture (FFAR)
Emily Ma
Head, Food for Good, Google
Thomas McQuillan
Vice President, Sales, Baldor Specialty Foods, Inc.
Pete Nelson
President & Executive Director, AgLaunch
Danielle Nierenberg
President, Food Tank
Pete Pearson
Senior Director, Food Waste, World Wildlife Fund
Tad Radzinski
President, Sustainable Solutions Corporation
Allison Shapiro
Executive Director, Closed Loop Partners
Mary Shelman
Founder, Shelman Group
Darien Sturges
US Global Partnerships Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Jessica Vieira
Senior Director, Sustainability, Apeel Sciences
Turner Wyatt
CEO, Upcycled Food Association
Marc Zornes
Founder, 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.