Foundation For Innovation In Society

Our Initial Project:

Food Security and Resilience in the Phoenix Metro Region

About the Foundation:

The Foundation for Innovation in Society works to build caring and respectful relationships between people, as well as between people and the natural world. The Foundation is guided by the values of nonviolence, kindness, and cooperation.

Innovation means creating positive changes by finding new or improved and effective ways to solve important issues. This project focuses on addressing food insecurity in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

About the Problem:

Many factors contribute to food insecurity:

·         Poverty: over 10% of the population in Metro Phoenix falls below the Federal poverty line

·         Food deserts: areas of the Valley lack retail outlets for food or access to food banks that provide food for free

·         Lack of food production: less than 1% of the food that is consumed in the Valley is grown in the Valley

·         Food waste occurs at all points in the system: plowed back into the field; not aesthetically marketable; expiration dates on store shelves; over purchasing/consumption, and stockpiling

Who it hits hardest

Beyond poverty, some neighbors face additional barriers that put even a free meal out of reach.

• No transportationUnable to reach retail outlets or food banks.
• Unable to prepare foodDisability or illness can make cooking impossible.
• No kitchen facilityNowhere to safely store or prepare a meal.
• Gaps in public supportGovernment entities cannot always provide the help that is needed.

How we’re approaching it

Produce more, waste less, and adapt what already works

We are exploring ways to increase local food production and design out the waste built into today’s system — building on programs already proven in other cities and tailoring them to the Valley.

• Grow more food, locallyDedicate land and labor to production so that far more than 1% of what the Valley eats is actually grown in the Valley.
• Design out the wasteCapture the food currently lost at every stage of the system before it ever becomes waste.
• Adapt proven modelsBuild on programs already working in other cities and tailor them to the realities of the Valley.