fairlife LLC, a Chicago-based dairy beverage company, announced the Dallas recipients of its newly launched grant program, which seeks to support community groups working to improve food systems. Five winners were selected to each receive a $2,500 grant to advance the vision and direction of community-led groups whose missions align with fairlife's.

"fairlife is a company founded with the mission to provide people throughout the world with vitality and wellness, and we do that through innovative and highly nutritious dairy products coming from leading-edge sustainable farms," said Sue McCloskey, co-founder of fairlife and a dairy farmer. "The future of a healthy population and planet is based on sustainably produced nutrition for all, and that's why we're recognizing some amazing organizations and their noble efforts to enrich their communities’ lives and better their food systems, especially in underserved areas.

Through the grant program, fairlife will identify four new cities every year and donate to the organizations within those cities that serve and impact families' lives through nutrition, McCloskey noted.

“From urban gardens to food backpacks to innovative ways to use food waste, community organizations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area presented a number of worthy projects,” she said. “Singling out the winners from all of these inspiring and heroic efforts was really difficult, but we're honored to be able to help and look forward to the next round of grants."  

Eighteen applications from organizations located in and supporting the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area were submitted, fairlife said. Following a rigorous review of entries by a fairlife panel of judges, five winners were chosen, including:

• TransformUS Movement, a group that exists to mobilize people and organizations to break barriers and build bridges toward a better, more unified community.
• Good Samaritans of Garland, which operates the largest local food pantry to help families and individuals in need move toward self-sufficiency.
• Brookhaven College Food Pantry, an on-campus food pantry that serves any food-insecure student or staff member of the Brookhaven College community.
• Charles A Gill Elementary School Garden, a school garden that engages students Pre-K and above to grow food that supports the students and the growing refugee population living in the surrounding food desert in which this school is located.
• Promise of Peace Gardens, which works with local chefs to establish and run community gardens in formerly vacant spaces and help reintroduce healthy foods into the lives of those in food deserts.

In partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, all fairlife drinks are distributed throughout the United States and available in retail outlets nationwide. For more information about fairlife and its newly launched grant program, visit fairlife.com.