We’re Thrilled to Win the 2024 New England Food Vision Prize!

We have some incredible news to share with you: Fork Food Lab has just been awarded the 2024 New England Food Vision Prize by the Henry P. Kendall Foundation! With this $193,369 prize, we’re expanding our Second Harvest Partnership in an exciting new direction—creating a line of upcycled broccoli products for college dining halls across Maine, including the University of Maine system. This project is going to impact thousands of students, support local farmers, and further our mission of making Maine’s food system more sustainable and resilient.

This award will allow us to turn broccoli byproducts, sourced from local farms through our partner Harvesting Good, into nutritious, low-cost products like broccoli soup, tots, and sauces. These items will soon be served across 14 colleges serviced by Sodexo, including to 30,000 students in the University of Maine system! Not only are we making delicious, locally sourced foods more accessible, but we’re also reducing food waste by putting “seconds” and off-grade produce to good use. This work directly supports Sodexo and Maine Course’s commitment to sourcing 30% of their university dining ingredients from within Maine by 2030—a goal we’re proud to help achieve.

The New England Food Vision Prize, launched in 2018, is all about strengthening the regional food supply chain in schools and colleges across New England. Receiving this award is a big step forward for us and our partners as we work to create an even stronger bridge between local farms and institutional buyers. Together, we’re helping Maine’s food entrepreneurs and farmers tap into new markets, all while providing students with fresh, nutritious options that support the local food economy.

We’re so grateful to the Henry P. Kendall Foundation for supporting our vision, and we can’t wait to get started on this impactful project.

Stay tuned as we roll out these new broccoli products—this is just the beginning of the journey!