The Arrell Global Food Innovation Award is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced food security around the world through contributions to science or communities. Conceived by the Arrell Family Foundation and established in 2018 with the creation of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph, two prizes are awarded each year: the first recognizes a researcher, or group of researchers, who has advanced understanding of food production, processing, distribution, consumption, safety and/or human nutrition, with a significant positive impact on society; the second recognizes an individual, or group of individuals, who has contributed to improved nutritional health and/or food security, with a focus on strengthening disadvantaged communities.
Winners receive $100,000 CAD and recognition at the annual Arrell Food Summit.
Laureates Year Laureate Category Country Rationale Citation 2023 Sara Bonham Researcher Creating innovative food products that support human and planetary health. 2023 Câm Dairy Foods Organization Connecting marginalized communities with markets for their dairy products, providing steady income and supporting food security. 2023 NASA Harvest Organization Global Using satellite-based imaging to understand food production in a war zone, providing evidence to inform global trade decisions. 2022Delia Grace RandolphResearcherFor unique and transformative impacts on the safety of food systems and public health in developing countries. 2022Access AgricultureOrganizationGlobalFor working directly with community groups to produce and deliver high-quality, farmer-to-farmer training videos that provide informative and relevant content to farmers in small communities 2021 Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted Researcher For research innovation. WorldFish is an international aquatic foods science and innovation entity of CGIAR, the world's largest agricultural research network. 2021 Food Heritage Foundation Organization Strengthening communities through regional issues such as connecting Syrian refugees and their host communities in Lebanon. 2020 Rattan Lal Researcher For improving soil health, and in doing so, increasing food production around the world. 2020 Appetite for Change Organization For using food as a vehicle for building health and social justice in their community 2020 Community Food Centres Canada Organization Using meals as a catalyst for greater change in the food system. 2019 Leon Kochian Researcher Research on plant root systems that aims to improve crop yields by understanding the interactions between roots, the soil they live in, and the micro-organisms in the soil 2019 Food Forward South Africa Organization Frontline action in facilitating the provision of more than 17.5-million meals each year through its network of food and financial donors. 2018 Samuel S. Myers Researcher Research on the impacts of climate change on food and nutrition. 2018 Solidaridad Organization Efforts to ensure that food is produced in a way that adequately recognizes the role of farmers in feeding a growing global population while respecting the environment and future generations.
Adjudicators Nadia Theodore, Senior Vice President, Maple Leaf Foods Lawrence Hadad, executive director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition Florence Lasbenes, managing director, 4SD Adrienne Xavier, acting director, Indigenous Studies, McMaster University
Community Food Heroes In recognition of outstanding and innovative contributions to making their own communities’ food systems more equitable, nutritious, sustainable and just, the Adjudication Committee for the Arrell Global Food Innovation Awards has also periodically recognized “food heroes.” 2019 Northern Manitoba Food, Culture, and Community Collaborative Lenore Newman, University of the Fraser Valley Chef Elijah Amoo Addo, Food for All Africa Hiwot Amare Getaneh, Nutrition for Education and Development 2018 Loaves and Fishes, Nanaimo, British Columbia Our Sustenance Black Creek Community Farm
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