Through the partnership, Cargill will pump US$1.5 million to scale up the Gastromotiva community-based efforts to use food as a way to address social inequality, improve nutrition, cut food waste and create jobs and economic growth.
“This partnership brings together two organisations focused on driving social and economic change through food,” said David MacLennan, Cargill’s CEO.
“By combining Gastromotiva’s community focus with Cargill’s global footprint and experience, we can scale the Social Gastronomy Movement to have a positive impact on nourishing individuals around the world.”
Cooking wasted meat to feed Brazil’s favelas
Cargill has signed on as a founding partner of the non-profit organisation, formed in 2006 by São Paulo chef David Hertz, who wanted to use food to transform Brazil’s most deprived areas.
His Social Gastronomy Movement goes into impoverished communities in Brazil, El Salvador, South Africa and Mexico, teaching local communities how to cook, then train others, giving a little lift to localised employment.
“Cargill and Gastromotiva are joining forces to make something much bigger than ourselves – to accelerate a movement that will reach the masses,” said Hertz.
“By training people to work as chefs, feeding those in need and using food that would have otherwise gone to waste, we generate opportunities, lift up those who are struggling and empower the world through service.”
Cargill and Gastromotiva announced their three-year partnership at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where the world’s most powerful people have gathered to discuss the most pressing issues facing the planet.
“In a fractured world, Social Gastronomy can bring us all together, to a shared table. It can build the bridge between grassroot solutions, policy-makers and business leaders. This fast-changing world requires joint actions and solutions more than ever,” said CEO of Gastromotiva Nicola Gryczka.