From General Mills Executive Director, Mary Jane Melendez
FFAR is grateful for the support of its many partners who collaborate with FFAR to fund transformative food and agriculture research. This donor profile was provided by Mary Jane Melendez, Executive Director of General Mills
From its inception, General Mills’ purpose has been tied to the land and the table. Born on the banks of the Mississippi in 1866, General Mills began by working with farmers to ensure that their hard work and harvest would help feed a growing America. Over the next hundred years, we perfected several milling and production processes which made it possible to bring-to-market brands across a number of categories that became beloved household names, like Cheerios. More recently, we have become increasingly focused on core issues and opportunities related to our sourcing and sustainability practices as we continue to anticipate and meet ever-changing consumer tastes and preferences.
One area of common cause between General Mills and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is that we have shared interests in advancing sustainable and regenerative agriculture practices and providing farmers the tools they need to drive profitability as well as long-term resilience.
In 2018, General Mills was proud to serve as the lead sponsor of FFAR’s Foster Our Future event, as the event focus nearly mirrored our company’s philanthropic and sustainability focus areas including Soil Health, Water Scarcity, Food Waste, Urban Food Systems and Innovation. Much of General Mills social impact emphasis over the last decade has been centered on the very issues that FFAR is striving to advance.
By partnering with organizations like FFAR, we can convene like-minded partners to achieve scale and impact at a far greater speed than if we tackled these issues on our own. As we look to advance regenerative agriculture on one million acres of farmland in North America by 2030, it’s the conviction and strong partnerships with organizations like FFAR that will help us achieve our goal.
We’re honored to partner with FFAR to help advance broader adoption of regenerative farming practices in U.S. agriculture. Our partnership in advancing soil health science and practices has provided an important foundation for better adoption. Together, we make a real difference in addressing today’s food and agriculture challenges so that every person has access to affordable, nutritious food grown on thriving farms.