Roy Steiner
Roy Steiner is a philanthropic executive with a doctorate in agricultural and biological engineering who currently serves as Senior Vice President, Food Initiative at the Rockefeller FoundationThe Rockefeller FoundationThe Rockefeller Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation headquartered in New York City. It was chartered by New York State legislation in 1913 with funding from Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller, with the mission “to promote the well-being of mankind throughout the world.” In its early years it funded global public health, medical education, and yellow fever vaccine research; in the mid-20th century it supported agricultural programs that came to be known as the “Green Revolution”; and in recent years it has focused its work on energy, health, food, and climate.Open the full entry, advancing work on access to nutritious food, school meals, and “Food is Medicine.” He previously led Omidyar Network’s Intellectual Capital team, helped build the Gates Foundation’s Agricultural Development program, and co-founded the African internet companies Africa Online and Cyberplex Africa.
Contents8 sections
Key facts
Early Years: Studies at MIT and Cornell University
Steiner earned dual bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and then received master’s and doctoral degrees in agricultural and biological engineering from Cornell University.[1]
July 11, 2022Statement on Federal School Meal Support
On July 11, 2022, Steiner, as the Rockefeller Foundation’s Senior Vice President, Food Initiative, issued a statement welcoming the U.S. Congress’s passage of the Keep Kids Fed Act and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to strengthen child nutrition programs, which together provided nearly $4 billion in funding and extended several child nutrition waivers introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic through the end of the 2022–2023 school year. He also noted that Congress had not extended for a full school year the waiver allowing all students to receive free school meals regardless of income, and called on lawmakers to act to expand free school meal coverage.[2][2][2][2]
March 12, 2026Writes on School Meals and “Food is Medicine”
On March 12, 2026, Steiner published an article on the foundation’s website setting out the Food Initiative’s vision of a more nourishing, regenerative, and equitable food system. He wrote that the foundation had committed $100 million the previous year to help provide nutritious and increasingly regenerative school meals to 100 million children; the foundation had also launched the School Meals Accelerator in Berlin with Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, and the World Food Programme, planning to support 10 to 15 countries in implementing national school meal programs, with the goal of helping governments reach another 100 million children by 2030.[3][3][3][3][3]
In the article he also discussed the foundation’s “Food is Medicine” programs in the United States, which provide produce prescriptions, medically tailored meals, and fresh food to people with diet-related health conditions; a newly released foundation report estimated that such programs could generate more than $45 billion in state economic activity and 316,000 jobs, and bring $5.6 billion in revenue to small and mid-sized U.S. farms.[3][3]
Earlier Work at Omidyar Network and the Gates Foundation
Before joining the Rockefeller Foundation, Steiner led Omidyar Network’s Intellectual Capital team and helped build the Gates Foundation’s Agricultural Development program.[1]
Co-Founding Africa Online and Cyberplex Africa
Steiner is a co-founder of Cyberplex Africa and Africa Online, two companies dedicated to advancing internet access and digital innovation on the African continent.[1]
Current Role
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
The Rockefeller Foundation: Official website: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/ (opens in a new window).[1]
Sources
- Roy Steiner (opens in a new window)
- Statement on Federal Support of School Meals by Roy Steiner, Senior Vice President for The Rockefeller Foundation’s Food Initiative (opens in a new window)
- A Food System for the Future: From School Meals to Food is Medicine (opens in a new window)
- Leadership (opens in a new window)