The competition is designed to encourage groundbreaking solutions to combat food waste, a problem that is becoming increasingly urgent as projections suggest that nearly one billion people could be facing severe food insecurity by 2028.

This global challenge invites students, startups, and entrepreneurs to present their innovative technology or data-driven solutions aimed at reducing postharvest food waste. The competition will take place in three cities: London on 14th November, followed by Amsterdam and San Francisco on 19th November. Interested participants have until 30th September to submit their applications online.

At each event, candidates will showcase their ideas to a distinguished regional panel of judges. Regional winners will receive a $5,000 cash prize and advance to the grand final, which will be held on 2nd December. The ultimate winner will be awarded a $50,000 prize and invited to join a six-month incubator programme led by industry executives, tailored to support their business growth.

London's leg of the challenge, on 14th November 2024, will be hosted at The Science Museum. The panel will include Claire Walters, Lineage’s Regional Vice President, along with Simon Millard, Director of Food at FareShare; Harriet Lamb, CEO of WRAP; and Paul Randle from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership. In addition, partners like ReLondon and FoodCycle will offer mentoring and guidance to participants, helping them sharpen their proposals ahead of the event.

Greg Lehmkuhl, President and CEO of Lineage said: “Lineage is constantly looking at how we improve the global management of food storage, transportation and distribution. Beyond our own operational improvements, the Food Chain Innovation Challenge is a platform for us to support the industry's most promising talent and innovations. By collaborating, we can develop solutions that not only address food waste but also promote sustainable practices for the long term.”

Jeff Rivera, Global Chief Operations Officer at Lineage added: “Despite producing enough food to feed the planet, hundreds of millions of people face food insecurity every day. At Lineage, we're dedicated to transforming the food supply chain to eliminate waste and feed the world. The Food Chain Innovation Challenge exemplifies this mission, and we’re excited to highlight new solutions and innovations while supporting these entrepreneurs' journeys to turn their ideas into reality.”

Simon Millard, Director of Food at UK charity FareShare, said: “At FareShare we believe that no good food should go to waste, so it gives me great pride to be a judge at Lineage’s Food Chain Innovation Challenge this year, which is supporting the need for new innovations and technologies to reduce food waste. It’s simply not acceptable that so much food waste occurs when so many people suffer food insecurity. As the problem of food waste continues across the UK, now more than ever we need clever people and smart organisations to step up and help. This is going to be vitally important in helping to deliver food safely and responsibly to those most in need, and I can’t wait to see what some of our most brilliant minds are doing to tackle this most urgent of needs.”

At the events, participants will be asked to pitch their existing ideas across four specific areas: reducing food waste, food preservation techniques, access to nutritious food and data-driven insights and analytics.