Four organizations receive funds to combat food insecurity

Funding from the American Heart Association’s Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund and the Walmart Foundation aim to improve food access in under-resourced communities

2025-05-09

(Press-News.org) DALLAS, May 7, 2025 — One in eight U.S. households struggles to access enough food, and that number is on the rise.[1] The American Heart Association is building on its 100 years of lifesaving service to fund social enterprises to sustainably improve this driver of health and change the future of health for all.

To that end, the Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund, part of American Heart Association Ventures’ Social Impact Funds, is distributing $900,000 to four organizations:

Attane Health, based in Kansas City, Missouri, provides access to personalized, nutritious groceries and educational resources for those living with chronic health conditions; Farm Generations Cooperative, based in Hudson, New York, is a farmer-owned cooperative supporting farm viability, food access and regenerative agriculture through technology, including the GrownBy e-commerce platform that connects consumers to more than 500 farms in 48 states; In Her Shoes, based in Webb, Mississippi, operates Farmacy Marketplace to increase food security as a fresh food access point for Tallahatchie County’s 12,000 residents; and Nectar, based in Chicago, a platform that drives innovation in food security by delivering food as medicine in partnership with charitable food organizations. The funding is made possible by a grant from the Walmart Foundation to support companies and organizations that combat food insecurity. Through the Walmart Foundation’s contributions, the Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund supports social enterprises offering solutions that specifically address food security, particularly among mothers, infants and people with diabetes.

Recipients of funding from the Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund include both nonprofit and for-profit organizations working to positively impact factors that affect cardiovascular health in historically under-resourced communities. The Fund provides essential financial capital to these enterprises that, in many cases, struggle to source private venture capital or alternative sources of funding to accelerate their growth and scale their impact. Previous financial support from the Walmart Foundation has already enabled more than 20 social benefit organizations to improve local food ecosystems across Atlanta and Chicago.

“Through the generous support of the Walmart Foundation, the Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund provides critical capital funding to social impact entrepreneurs so they can grow successfully,” said Lisa Suennen, managing partner of American Heart Association Ventures. “By providing resources and funding for these social enterprises that have a deep understanding of the people within the communities in which they work, we expect to see wide-reaching and lasting impact to change the future of health for all.

Learn more at heart.org/socialimpactfunds.

Additional Resources

Spanish news release Population shifts, risk factors may triple U.S. cardiovascular disease costs by 2050 Alarming trends call for action to define the future role of food in nation’s health AHA Social Impact Funds aim to improve health disparities in under-resourced communities AHA, Walmart Foundation strengthen food ecosystems to improve food access ###

About the American Heart Association Social Impact Funds
The American Heart Association Social Impact Funds invest in for-profit businesses and provide philanthropic grants to nonprofit organizations that are tackling the social drivers of health. We focus on health care access and quality, food security and economic empowerment — social factors that have a direct correlation to cardiovascular risk, health outcomes and longevity. Our model supports the sustainability and expansion of evidence-based solutions across diverse markets and issues.

Established in 2018, the Social Impact Funds, including the Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund, are part of American Heart Association Ventures, the group that leads and coordinates the venture capital programs of the American Heart Association. Visit us at heart.org/SocialImpactFunds and heart.org/ventures.

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Four organizations receive funds to combat food insecurity

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