Studying Food Production: “The Carnegie Fund” for Stanford University

In 1921, Carnegie Corporation of New York made a grant to Stanford University that established one of the first university-affiliated research institutions in the United States, the Food Research Institute, “to study the production, distribution and consumption of food-stuffs.” The year 2011 will not only mark Carnegie Corporation’s Centennial, but also the 90th anniversary of “The Carnegie Fund” for Stanford University.  In 1931, the Corporation made another grant of $750,000 to Stanford “for an endowment,” which was applied toward further support of the Food Research Institute programs.  The current value of this fund is $17 million.  Today, the fund supports faculty and research within the School of Humanities and Sciences in the area of food production, distribution and consumption, in the original and broad tradition of the Carnegie Fund.