• Seed Grants ($25,000 each) will be awarded to applicants that are planning and nurturing high-potential, innovative ideas and have developed a prototype and/or initial proof of concept demonstrating feasibility.
• Growth Grants ($100,000 each) will be awarded to applicants that have demonstrated their initiative is doable and have projected both economic feasibility at scale and high impact potential to transform the food system. 
• Seeding The Future Grand Prizes ($250,000 each) will be awarded to applicants with a scalable, economically feasible innovation that is compelling to consumers and have demonstrated major impact potential to transform the food system. 

Applicants will be required to select which grant level they are applying for. The application process is designed to help applicants determine which level of award they are eligible for and should apply to.

The following organizations are eligible to compete in the Challenge:

• Non-profits or non-governmental organizations located in any country
• Academic or research institutions located in any country
• Early-stage or emerging for-profit companies or social enterprises located in any country*

*Excluded are countries or territories against which the U.S. and/or Germany maintains comprehensive sanctions (currently, Afghanistan, Belarus, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Sevastopol, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, the Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, & Zaporizhzhia Regions of Ukraine, and Venezuela).

Individuals are not eligible to apply. Please note, however, that teams of students or researchers may participate as part of an organization’s submission. Organizations are encouraged to form teams to compete in the Challenge. If two or more organizations form a team to compete, they should choose one of the organizations to serve as the applicant.

View the Selection Criteria

The Global Food System Challenge is intended to support innovations that bring a significant benefit to at least one, but ideally several of the intersecting domains (see Innovation Focus Area diagram) and that have the potential for transformational impact at scale and over time.

What will not be funded:

• Projects that have a negative effect on either the safety or healthfulness of food, the sustainability of the food supply chain, or that are unlikely to be accepted by the end-user or consumer 
• Initiatives for which funds will be used to support large for-profit entities in their commercial activities such as R&D, innovation, manufacturing or sales/marketing 
• Initiatives which are not scalable beyond the initial project scope and have limited projected impact over time 
• For-profit entities with significant financial assets or which passed Series A financing round 
• Theoretical concepts or ideas without any experiments or a reduction to practice 
• Projects associated with political campaigns, capital campaigns, or lobbying 
• Individual people with no existing organizational entity 

I have an initial idea. Is it too early to apply?
The Challenge is intended for initiatives for which at least some experiments have already been conducted to develop prototypes, or have shown initial proof of concept, demonstrating feasibility. We strongly recommend applicants have made some progress on their concept development to increase their chances of being selected for an award.

• January 1st 2027 – Applications open 
• February 15th 2027 – Applications close  
• June 2027 –  Seed Grant decisions expected
• July 2027 –  Growth Grant and Grand Prize decisions expected

There is no fee to apply.

All applications will require the following information: 

• Profile: Contact information, organization name, organization type, organization size, previous awards
• Financial and Organizational Documents: Tax status, most recent financial statement, mission & vision, and a business plan overview for for-profit or social enterprise organizations
• Project Overview: Title of project, executive summary, description of the innovation and its benefits, SDGs addressed, benefitting country/countries, outlook to completion
• Project Plan: A comprehensive project plan comprising scope, budget, and timeline must be provided. The budget should be itemized, outlining all projected expenses, anticipated income, and the proposed allocation of award funds
• Type and Size of Impact: Estimated size of the project’s impact on society and the environment. Growth Grant and Seeding The Future Grand Prize applicants must include the demonstrated benefits of the innovation and its adoption by end-users
• Multidisciplinary: Description of how your project incorporates perspectives from multiple disciplines
• Alignment with Seeding The Future’s Mission and Vision: Description of how the project aligns with the vision and mission of the Seeding The Future Foundation
• Alignment with the Challenge Focus Areas: Description of how the innovation benefits one or more of the intersecting domains of: safe and nutritious food for a healthy diet; sustainable, regenerative practices, food loss and waste reduction; affordable, accessible, appealing and trusted food. Growth Grant and Seeding The Future Grand Prize applicants will be required to discuss food policy implications. Project must not negatively impact any of these domains. 
• Maturity, Scalability, Economic Feasibility at Scale: Description of what has been done so far, such as early studies, experiments, pilot scale tests, consumer studies, that demonstrate that the project is feasible at the Seed Grant level, and doable, scalable, and economically feasible at the Growth Grant and Grand Prize levels
• Catalytic Effect of the award: Description of how award funds will enable or accelerate the project, and how the project will be impacted if funding is not granted
• Description of challenges and risks 

To ensure equity and fairness in the review process, applicants must have completed all application questions and requested materials and submit them by the indicated deadline. Late or incomplete submissions cannot be considered.

There are two initial screening phases before Selection Committee rounds – the eligibility screen and the content screen. 

• Eligibility Screen: This is a preliminary application vetting to ensure that each application meets the basic organizational and financial eligibility requirements for the Challenge. This vetting will include a review of the complete application, applicant eligibility, applicant award level, and required organizational and financial documentation. Each applicant will receive a pass or fail. Applications that do not pass the eligibility screening will not advance
• Initial Content Screen: During this screen, independent reviewers will assess the initial quality of applications. Questions are focused on clear premise of the innovation and its benefits, budget and timeline, multi-disciplinary approach, and impact in the intersection of nutrition, sustainability, and end-user acceptance

The application review committees will consist of three groups: 

• Independent Reviewers: WHH will recruit a pool of subject matter experts and food system experts who will independently review and score applications in the Initial Content Screen round. These reviewers will not participate in discussions as a group. Instead, WHH will aggregate their individual scores. Seed Grant applications will get two rounds of Independent Review
• Selection Committee: The Selection Committees for each, the Growth Grant award and the Seeding The Future Grand Prize will consist of approximately 10 globally recognized national and international food system and domain experts who will select the finalists and winners for the Challenge 
• WHH Team Members: WHH will have final discretion in following the Selection Committee’s recommendations and the disbursement of funds

How will finalists be chosen? 

The committee will use a rubric (see ​Selection Criteria) with specific criteria to judge applications in the two initial screening phases. Following these initial screens, applications will be routed to a Selection Committee, who will be responsible for selecting the finalists and awardees.  

• Seed Grants: Seed Grants will receive three rounds of reviews. Upon completion of application reviews, scoring and voting by WHH’s subject matter and food system experts, Seed Grant awardees will be determined
• Growth Grants and Seeding The Future Grand Prizes: These awards will go through two rounds of initial review followed by two rounds of Selection Committee review. Finalists will participate in interviews with the Selection Committee. Following the interviews, the Selection Committee will vote and recommend Growth Grant and Seeding The Future Grand Prize awardees to WHH

WHH will oversee and facilitate the entire process ensuring a diverse pool of awardees.  

Can I submit my idea to another contest at the same time? 
Yes. There is no exclusivity requirement, but the award money needs to be dedicated and spent as described in the application. 

Can I enter more than once? 
We encourage applicants to share their most compelling and promising idea that has reached proof of concept and demonstrated feasibility at scale and high impact potential to transform the food system. However, an organization can submit multiple applications provided they have multiple different projects.

I submitted last year but was not selected, can I apply again? 
Yes. Please note that application requirements from last year’s Challenge have been adjusted. We highly encourage applicants to review the new requirements and if their innovation meets those requirements, to submit their application again.  

For non-profit entities, there are no restrictions on the amount of capital raised and we encourage everyone to apply. For-profit entity candidates should be early stage and pre-Series A financing with financial assets not exceeding $10MM. For-profit entities applying for the Seeding The Future Grand Prize should have a business plan including future and/or additional financing needs.

Yes, applications can be cancelled in the online application portal.

Yes, applicants will be notified if they are accepted or denied.

WHH will not share personal or proprietary information with the public and provides an option for applicants to choose if they would like select information to be shared with key food system stakeholders such as WHO, WFP or investors. If your application is at least shortlisted to advance to the semifinalist level, selected information from your application (Title, Exec. Summary, Project Description and Projected Impact) may be included in the STF Food Systems Innovation Database and Network and may be shared through press releases or WHH's and the Seeding The Future's website.

Finalists will be announced in June/July 2027. WHH will notify each awardee and then publicly announce the list of awardees.

All details regarding money distribution are outlined in the Award Agreement, which can be found as separate document on this website.

Award funds may be used for the following costs: personnel, cost for using existing hardware and/or pilot plant or laboratory infrastructure, necessary travel (coach class), supplies, contracted services, sub-grants, and consultants. While applicants maintain ownership of any and all intellectual property previously created (background IP), grant funds may not be used to limit third party access to innovations created with the use of grant funds (foreground IP), such as work to either obtain or enforce intellectual property. Partial or full support for acquiring equipment may be requested subject to the circumstances described below. Please provide budget estimates according to these categories. WHH will provide each awardee with a grant agreement with detailed stipulations.

In addition to a financial award, all awardees may also receive several non-financial benefits and incentives, including the following:

• Organizational profile posted on the WHH website
• Featured in WHH communications, including newsletters and social media channels
• Invitation to and recognition at a major event, such as for example the World Food Forum, providing exposure and access to potential customers, suppliers, mentors, and investors
• Invitation to join the Seeding The Future Global Food Systems Innovation Database and Network, which is intended to
  a) Enable WHH and the Seeding The Future Foundation to promote and share your innovation with NGOs such as the FAO, WFP, or larger philanthropic organizations,
  b) to participate in networking events with investors or innovation communities and
  c) to share experiences and address key needs and opportunities within the network. If your application is at least shortlisted to advance to the semifinalist level, the Name and website of your Organization, Project Title, Executive Summary and Project Description and Projected Impact will automatically be included in the Seeding The Future Foundation Global Food Systems Innovation Database and Network. Projects may be shared on WHH's and Seeding The Future Foundation’s website as well as in press releases if your application advances further. Inclusion in the database is contingent on reaching the semifinalist ​level
• Seeding The Future Grand Prize awardees may also receive additional access to networking opportunities with potential mentors and investors

Yes. In future years, WHH will encourage past finalists and awardees to apply for a higher-level prize or grant. The intention is that the Challenge could help steward ideas from proof of concept (Seed Grant) to fully scalable and impactful (Seeding The Future Grand Prize).

The Seeding The Future Foundation has provided funding for its partner, WHH, to conduct the Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge. The goal of the Challenge is to inspire and support passionate, diverse, and multidisciplinary teams to create game-changing innovations that will help transform food systems globally to be more sustainable, make healthier diets more accessible, and enable equitable access to food that is affordable, appealing, and trusted, benefitting society, people and the environment. WHH and the Seeding The Future Foundation share the belief that the biggest challenges facing food systems globally can be addressed when inspired innovators, scientists, and engineers across multiple disciplines collaborate to help transform our food systems to sustainably provide equitable access to safe, nutritious, affordable and trusted food for everyone. 

Additional questions may be directed to 
stf-globalfoodsystemchallenge(at)welthungerhilfe.de