Improving the Chicago Region’s Future Through Food
We believe that when you join together to support an equitable food system, the broader community and environment benefit.
Our Members
Fresh Taste members are a group of foundations large and small, urban and rural. Members learn and work together to build stronger grantmaking initiatives, advance our work, and increase impact.
Aligning for Greater Impact
Aligned grantmaking unlocks outsized impact. Fresh Taste fosters support for organizations addressing issues of healthy food access, land protection, climate change, rural and urban agriculture, community development, market development (co-ops, farmer’s markets, grocers, retail, etc.), worker’s rights, youth programming, technology, and more.
Our Impact
Austin Fresh
West Side, Chicago
Conceived in 2020 as a five-year, $1 million annual initiative, participating funders work collaboratively with community partners to expand healthy retail options, support community gardens and local food production, grow food enterprises, and protect and strengthen food assistance programs in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side.
Chicago Region Food System Fund
Chicago Foodshed
Created in the early months of the COVID-19 crisis and guided by a community-led steering committee, the Chicago Region Food System Fund focuses on building resilience in the local food system, an area approximately 200 miles from Chicago. The total support granted by the Fund is $20,973,150 to 202 organizations since June 2020.
Midwest Regenerative Agriculture Fund
Midwest Region
The Midwest Regenerative Agriculture Fund (MRAF) supports a comprehensive shift to regenerative agricultural practices across the Midwest. It does this by investing in research, education, and outreach efforts to promote a culture of collaboration between universities and regional stakeholders.
“The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.
The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, and it will go on.”
Joy Harjo
Muscogee (Creek) Nation, 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States
FAQs
What is Fresh Taste?
Fresh Taste is a collaborative funding initiative working to improve the Chicago region’s future through food. Our focus is the Chicago foodshed, an area extending roughly 200-250 miles around Chicago, from which we believe much of the region’s food could be sourced.
How do I become a member?
Fresh Taste membership unlocks outsized impact for your philanthropic activity, and we welcome foundations and philanthropic funds as new members to participate. Please contact our team to learn more about membership.
How can I apply for a grant?
While Fresh Taste does not offer grants directly to nonprofit and community partners, we invite you to review our current funding initiatives, where you may be able to seek funding to support your work.
Can I start a fund with Fresh Taste?
While Fresh Taste does not manage funds on behalf of a single foundation or donor, we do welcome support for our current funding initiatives. Additionally, we welcome the insights of new members and participating funders, and our staff can facilitate proposals for new funding initiatives from members.
Photo credits: Growing Home, Just Roots, Global Garden Refugee Training Farm