Supporting innovative ideas and collaborations that result in increased regional sourcing by New England’s educational institutions.

Introduction

Launched by the Henry P. Kendall Foundation in 2018, the New England Food Vision Prize Program aims to increase the amount of local and regional food prepared and served on New England college and university campuses and within K-12 public school districts, helping to strengthen the region’s food system.

Prizes are awarded to projects that build resilience, relationships, and capacity within New England’s academic institutional food supply chain, resulting in increased preparation, sourcing, serving, or use and consumption of local and regional food at K-12 schools and higher education institutions. 

We consider this program to be among our most impactful. Since the launch of the Prize, thirty-six teams across New England have increased regional sourcing in partnership with 650 schools, reaching 320,000 of the region’s students.

The Opportunity

The New England Food Vision Prize will award more than $1.5 million in annual awards to projects that build resiliency, relationships, and capacity within New England’s educational institution food supply chain. 2025 Prize awards may range from $25,000 up to $100,000.

Eligibility

A primary objective of this program is to foster collaboration and create new ways of working together on shared challenges and goals. Primary applicants can be schools, nonprofit organizations, municipalities, or government agencies. At least one educational institution (K-12 or higher education) must be identified as a direct beneficiary of the project. A letter of support will be required from this institution.

Prize Timeline

In 2025, there will be up to three rounds of Prize awards in June, October, and December:

JUNE AWARDS
April 7 : Application open
May 16 : Submission deadline
June 18 : Awards announced

OCTOBER AWARDS
August 11 : Application open
September 12 : Submission deadline
October 17 : Awards announced

DECEMBER AWARDS
October 6 : Application open
November 7 : Submission deadline
December 10 : Awards announced