Newman's Own Foundation and partners name 14 recipients of up to $1.4 million in Food Justice for Kids grants
The 2026 recipients, announced Oct. 8, are nonprofits and tribes in 12 states working on school meals, nutrition education and Indigenous food. Each will receive up to $100,000 over two years.
Westport. Newman's Own Foundation and three partners on Oct. 8 named the 14 recipients of the 2026 Food Justice for Kids Prize, which will provide up to $1.4 million in grants over two years to groups helping children get, learn about and eat nutritious, culturally relevant food at school and in their communities.
Each recipient will receive up to $100,000 over the two years, the foundation said. The recipients come from 12 states; two work at the national level, four at the state level and eight locally. The foundation said they are strengthening culturally relevant nutrition education, youth development, local purchasing for school food and climate-friendly school meals.
The prize is funded with Humanitix, a ticketing platform that dedicates all of its profits to charity; the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, which supports a regional food system in New England; and the Hunger to Health Collaboratory, which highlights food and nutrition work that advances health equity.
Who received it
Five recipients work on Indigenous food justice: the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Cooperative Extension Center in Cherokee, N.C.; Hoʻokuaʻāina in Kailua, Hawaii; One Spirit, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota; the Rural Alaska Community Action Program in Anchorage; and the Yurok Tribe Environmental Department Food Sovereignty Program in Klamath, Calif.
Nine work on nutrition education and school food: the Center for Good Food Purchasing in Berkeley, Calif.; ChangeLab Solutions in Oakland, Calif.; FoodRight Inc. in Milwaukee; the Good Food Collective in Durango, Colo.; Green Umbrella in Cincinnati; Grow Windham in Willimantic, Conn.; La Colaborativa in Chelsea, Mass.; Pilot Light in Chicago; and the Plant Powered School Meals Coalition, which the foundation lists as working nationwide.
According to the Westport Journal, which reported the awards on Oct. 14, the five Indigenous food justice recipients will receive a total of $500,000 and the nine others a total of $900,000.
More than 1,000 applicants
The prize was first awarded in 2024, with $1.2 million in grants, the foundation said. More than 1,000 organizations applied this time, and more than 125 outside reviewers helped choose the recipients alongside staff of the four funders.
Besides the money, the recipients will be recognized at the Hunger to Health Collaboratory's 2026 Fall Summit in Boston in November. They may also join the foundation's virtual learning sessions and meet through the year with other recipients to share practices.
Newman's Own Foundation, of Westport, Conn., is a private grantmaking foundation that uses all the profits and royalties from the sale of Newman's Own products for its mission, continuing a commitment made by the actor Paul Newman.
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