Kelly McJannett

Summary

A visionary social entrepreneur Kelly McJannett is CEO and co-founder of trailblazing NGO, Food Ladder. With a passion for creating multidisciplinary collaboration and leveraging technology to expedite social change, Kelly has grown Food Ladder from the seed of an idea to a global effort to address food security at scale. The NGO creates transformational social enterprises across the country that improve food security, health, education, and employment for in-need, remote and Indigenous communities. McJannett’s innovative and impactful approach through Food Ladder is creating lasting value and addressing critical societal challenges in not only Australia but also Bhutan, India, and Uganda. McJannett is also extending the initiative into the U.S. market.

Entrepreneurial Impact

An MBA graduate of The University of Sydney Business School, McJannett embodies the societal impact leader needed today. Her organization Food Ladder rapidly converts the longest supply chains in Australia to the shortest. It adapts advanced agricultural technology, typically reserved for commercial-scale farming, to benefit disadvantaged communities. By integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning into climate-controlled, often solar-powered greenhouses, Food Ladder not only addresses food security but also prepares vulnerable communities for climate change challenges.

Under McJannett’s leadership, Food Ladder has established a unique network of connected greenhouses in schools across Australia, and its projects are both multidisciplinary and developed in collaboration with local communities. They include vocational training, STEM education, and nutrition workshops. Further, they integrate practical agricultural skills with the national curriculum. Ongoing support, training, and resources ensure the sustainability of these projects, which are tailored to the specific climate and food needs of each community.

Food Ladder’s impact is evident across all Australian states and territories. Each Food Ladder system has the capacity to supplement 85,000 meals, often the only daily meal for students. Understanding the importance of childhood nutrition on education, longterm health, and economic participation, Kelly has embedded holistic frameworks into a highly scalable and agile model that embraces emerging technologies.

Further, it seeds social enterprises and trains participants in business operations. A testament to its influence, Food Ladder’s greenhouse is a well-being hub, reducing truancy and fostering a healthier, more engaged student body.

Student outcomes include improved school attendance, better concentration, and hands-on agricultural experience that can be applied in post-education employment. The knowledge that students gain is also passed on to older generations, creating a ripple effect of positive change. In some areas, this initiative has also led to the creation of household gardens, further enhancing food security by uplifting whole communities.

McJannett has spearheaded a research partnership with The University of Sydney Charles Perkins Centre to measure children’s attitudinal changes toward eating fruits and vegetables resulting from her work. Food Ladder has demonstrated that, by engaging children in the process of cultivating healthy food, their dietary choices improve long-term. This is crucial for combating high rates of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and diet-related chronic illnesses, all of which significantly affect Indigenous populations.

Her transformative work addressing food systems and creating social enterprises through Food Ladder has won the organization The Australian Financial Review (AFR) 2024 BOSS Most Innovative Companies award in the Government, Education and Not-For-Profit category.

She was also named in Australia’s 100 Women of Influence 2016 by the AFR and is a member of the The University of Sydney Business School Dean’s Board of Advice.

Additional Information

• “Food Ladder,” Food Ladder website
• LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/kelly-mcjannett-founder-food-ladder/