One of the most critical issues we face in reducing diet-related disease is what I call “funding the foods.”

How do we sustainably pay for healthier choice foods and the education needed to help people choose them?

Impact funding can be defined very simply. I love the way the Philadelphia Inquirer describes the model: “Sell something — earn revenue — finance social impact.”

The article describes how a healthy-food truck operates as a commercial business. Instead of depending entirely on grants, donations, or volunteers, the business generates revenue through sales and uses that economic activity to help fund its social mission.

In this case, that model helped “fund the foods” to the tune of 45,000 meals.

This isn’t simply an idea for the future. Earned-revenue models are already being adopted to finance social impact. The opportunity now is to expand their use across the food system—creating sustainable revenue that can help pay for healthier foods, food education, and the people doing the work.

Can we build businesses that generate the revenue needed to help solve the food-system problems? The answer is YES!

Chef Mikey’s “Funding the Foods” — Top 3

#1 — Sell Something. Earn Revenue. Finance Social Impact.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/produce-trucks-west-southwest-philadelphia-20241007.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

#2 — America’s hunger problem is quietly becoming a corporate problem. Forbes May 2026, Workforce productivity is hurt. which companies have an economic interest in.

#3 — The Eat Foundation 8/11/2026 re: www.eatforum.org “The board concluded that Eats’ organizational and funding model is not sufficiently resilient for sustainable and ambitious operations in the years ahead.”