2026 Winner: Food for All Africa
Food for All Africa works to eliminate food waste, poverty, and nutrition insecurity in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa by building a national systemic response to equitable food distribution. They operate West Africa’s first and largest food support centre, leveraging technology, food banking, and organic waste processing. Their circular model reduces methane emissions and food waste while increasing nutrition for low-income and vulnerable communities.
What does Food for All Africa do?
What social challenge are they addressing?
Approximately 8.2% of the global population—673 million people—experienced hunger in 2024 with Africa accounting for over 307 million undernourished individuals. In Ghana, over 12% of its population—more than 3.6 million people—experience food insecurity, with the highest burden falling on urban poor communities, informal workers, and school-aged children. In Accra alone, tens of thousands of households struggle daily to access affordable and nutritious meals.
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Meanwhile, an estimated 45% of food produced annually in Ghana is lost or wasted due to weak post-harvest infrastructure, lack of cold storage, inefficient distribution, and poor market systems. Much of this surplus food is discarded or left to spoil, emitting methane gas into the environment. This mismatch between food availability and access reveals a systemic inefficiency across Ghana’s food supply chain.
What is their solution?
Food for All Africa operates a circular, community-centered model that addresses food insecurity, food waste, poverty, and environmental degradation through food recovery and redistribution, food banking, and organic waste processing. At its core, the organization rescues surplus edible food from farmers, markets, processors, and retailers and redistributes it to low-income communities through a decentralized food banking network and adaptable mobile distribution system.
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Food that is no longer fit for human consumption is diverted to their Black Soldier Fly (BSF) composting units, where it is converted into high-protein animal feed and nutrient-rich organic fertilizer. These by-products are distributed to smallholder farmers, lowering agricultural input costs, reducing post-harvest losses, and supporting sustainable farming practices. This circular system minimizes landfill waste and methane emissions while strengthening local food production and farmer livelihoods.
“Our approach isn’t just about feeding people; it’s about building a circular food system that benefits both producers and consumers… Food for all is a shared responsibility.”
-Elijah Amoo Addo, Founder & Executive Director
What is their impact?
Food for All Africa has made significant and measurable impact in improving food security, reducing food waste, and promoting sustainable agriculture across the communities they work. As of 2025, they serve over 9,000 meals daily and divert over 200 tons of food waste monthly. Over 900 smallholder farmers receive these by-products. Their waste-to-resource efforts help avoid approximately 380 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, contributing to climate change mitigation.
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Between 2021-2023, they provided food assistance to 73,000 unique individuals of which 62% were women and 45% were children under eighteen years old, addressing the most vulnerable groups within these communities. They have expanded their network to include 175 active food donor partners and have trained 22 youth entrepreneurs to scale these circular economy solutions further.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
How is Food for All Africa aligned with the Lipman Family Prize’s four key criteria?
Leadership
Food for All Africa is a leader in the field of food security, food waste reduction, and sustainable food systems. Their integrated circular model that combines food recovery, redistribution, and organic waste-processing with community-led development makes them unique. They’re also leading the charge to address systemic causes of hunger and waste by actively engaging in policy advocacy.
Impact
Food for All Africa is making measurable impact in improving food security, reducing food waste, and creating a sustainable food system. They serve the most vulnerable populations in Ghana including smallholder farmers, women, and school-aged children. Their solutions are rooted in deep community engagement, involving local beneficiaries as active partners and co-creators, fostering trust and ownership for lasting change.
Innovation
Food for All Africa’s innovation is in addressing hunger relief and environmental sustainability through their circular community-centered model. By transforming inedible food waste into animal feed and organic fertilizer and redistributing it to smallholder farmers and community gardens, they not only divert waste from landfills and reduce methane emissions but also create a sustainable localized loop of food production and reuse.
Transferability
Food for All Africa’s modular model can be adapted across geographies and issue areas. Core elements—surplus food recovery, decentralized food banking, mobile food distribution, and BSF organic waste processing—are designed to be flexible rather than prescriptive. The organization actively shares its learnings and practices through regional and global partnerships.
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