About Food And Climate
Since 2012, Food and Climate has operated as an independent, one-person consultancy founded by Magdalena Anna Kropiwnicka. Over the years, Magdalena has come to understand the value of finding the right partners and collaborators, gradually envisioning a global network of expert consultants working on different aspects of food system transformation.
I understand the deep interconnections between food systems in Europe and globally. Returning to Brussels after almost 8 years of working in developing countries has reequipped me with fluency in recent EU agricultural and sustainability policy developments. As the world shifts away from traditional aid models, organizations increasingly seek agile, mission-aligned partners who can help them navigate complexity, build strategic partnerships with donors and stakeholders, and deliver meaningful results. While consultancy services are sometimes misunderstood or underutilized, I believe they are becoming increasingly essential for teams working toward sustainability goals.
My approach goes beyond delivering technical inputs. I collaborate closely with clients to ensure our support is aligned with long-term strategies, embedded within internal processes, and responsive to evolving needs. I am particularly committed to building relationships that grow over time. Whether support is needed occasionally or intensifies during moments that require trusted collaboration—such as outreach, events, proposal development, or transitions—I am are ready to step in, providing continuity and momentum.
I am also actively building a network of independent consultants working across food systems, environmental issues, and sustainable development.
Magdalena Anna Kropiwnickabrings over two decades of global experience, combining high-level multilateral policy expertise at the United Nations and the European Union with extensive fieldwork across four continents. Her professional journey includes direct service with the UN, as well as the management, strategic advisory and co-creation of non-profit organizations.
She is an expert on the Rome-based UN Food Agencies and the European Union, with lived and professional experience in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Magdalena played a pivotal role in the reform of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) following the 2008 global food price crisis. In 2011, she served as EU Spokesperson at the UN FAO and WFP during the Polish EU Presidency and led EU negotiations on the UN Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests.
Previously, Magdalena opened ActionAid’s Rome office leading on engagement with the UN Agencies and co-coordinating global food security network across 28 countries. Since 2012, as founder of Food and Climate consulting, she has advised the European Commission, UN FAO, non for profit and philanthropic organizations on food and climate policy, sustainable agro-food chains, biofuels, tenure rights, and gender equality. She has supported the Forest Tenure Funders Group and Wellspring Philanthropic Foundation on advancing gender equality and tenure rights for the Indigenous People and Local Communities. Most recently, she has co-created a philanthropic partnership engagement strategy for AgriCord, a global network of regional and national farmers organizations in Europe and the Global South.
An experienced non-profit leader, she was a founding Board Member of the Land Portal Foundation and has served as Secretary of the Board for the Uganda-based Women’s International Peace Center.
Magdalena holds M.A. in International Development and a Postgraduate Certificate in International Law and Diplomacy from St. John’s University, Rome Graduate Center. She earned dual B.A. degrees in Economics and Political Science, both summa cum laude, from Northeastern University at Marymount Manhattan Center. She is fluent in English, Polish, and Italian, with working proficiency in Spanish and French.
When she’s not dreaming up ways to transform food systems and support women’s leadership, she loves to spend her time in nature, scuba diving, or on the yoga mat while raising her two boys.