The nation-wide challenge invited submissions of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) innovations, inventions, and research from students in grades 6-12. The projects covered six themes, including Future Food.

“As a STEM-Bassador, an EXPLR co-founder, and board member I believe this work to be the most important of my lifetime,” Chef Andrew Zimmern tells Food Tank. “Just look at what these current pioneering change makers are doing! Sustainable food wraps, bio fortifying eggs, remaking how we identify crop disease while we still have a chance to prevent massive losses, soil conservation and repair. These aren’t future changemakers, they are changing our world right now! And we are bringing them to the world, front and center.”

Hao Li, an 11th grader from North Carolina, is one of the students being recognized for her award-winning submission in April. Looking to address food spoilage, Li sought to understand the science of food ripening. Through her research, she uncovered the role that the compound 1-Methylcyclopropene can play in counteracting the effects of ethylene gas, a natural hormone that speeds up ripening. To extend the shelf life of products, she developed a wrap prototype that she hopes can shape future approaches to preservation. 

Another STEM Champion, 11th grader Laasya Acharya from Ohio, focused her project on improving crop disease protection methods—an issue that results in the loss of 40 percent of global crops, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Acharya developed Ceres, a device that utilizes advanced imaging and neural networks to identify diseases in fruits, crops, and vegetables. As it develops, she is aiming for at least 85 percent accuracy and a detection time of under 10 seconds per image, while keeping costs below US$40.

And Shelby Scout Hoobler, an 11th grader from Wyoming being recognized for her submission, sought to rejuvenate overgrazed riparian areas. Through detailed soil sample analyses that pinpoint nutrient deficiencies, Hoobler hopes to restore these vital ecosystems and develop a scalable model for environmental recovery efforts globally. 

“This is a big topic in Wyoming and the west, so it is exciting for the National STEM Challenge to elevate this type of research,” Hoobler tells Food Tank.

Li, Acharya, and Hoobler, along with 123 of their peers, will gather at the National STEM Festival from April 12-13, 2024, co-presented by EXPLR and the U.S. Department of Education. The event will spotlight their innovative projects to a wider audience but also facilitate interactions with leading figures in government and industry. Organizers hope that this will help to lay the groundwork for future collaborations and breakthroughs. 

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Photo Courtesy of Shelby Hoobler

The post Pioneering the Future of Food: Student Innovators Lead the Way in National STEM Challenge appeared first on Food Tank.

Developed by One Step Closer (OSC), the OSC Packaging Collaborative is working to remove petroleum-based plastics through the development and scaling of compostable and renewable alternatives. 

Submissions for the 2024 OSC Packaging Innovation Awards can be made to three different categories. Innovations in Materials recognizes advancements in the development of novel, sustainable packaging materials. Innovation in Re-fillable Packaging Systems highlights solutions that promote reusability and help consumers reduce waste. And Innovation in Supply Chain Waste Reduction focuses on waste reduction in the manufacturing or delivery process. Companies can submit to all three categories, but only one solution per category is allowed. 

“By fostering creativity and sustainability in design and application, we pave the way for a future where packaging not only meets functional requirements but also aligns with broader goals of environmental stewardship,” Lara Dickinson, Executive Director of OSC, tells Food Tank. “Our hope for the awards is that they not only recognize exemplary achievements in packaging, but they also serve as a catalyst for driving positive change in the industry.”

Submissions will be accepted until February 16, 2024. Winners will be notified on March 1 and recognized on March 14 at the 2024 Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA. Companies can submit their packaging solutions to the Awards by clicking HERE.

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon was among a handful of companies working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on a pilot program that allowed shoppers to use their SNAP benefits online. The new platform allowed eaters to purchase groceries from participating retailers and have them shipped directly to their front doors.

But by March of 2020, when governments were advising that everyone stay home, the program was still only available in select states. “We understood that this very vital subsidy for food was not available beyond brick and mortar,” Nancy Dalton, the Head of Community Experience and Customer Marketing for Amazon Access, tells Food Tank. 

The pandemic fueled the expansion of the program as the need “to get as many states online as possible,” became more apparent, Dalton says. Today, consumers can use Online SNAP in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

At Amazon, Online SNAP falls under Amazon Access, a suite of programs and services that Dalton and her colleagues design and implement to expand access to food and other basic necessities. 

For Dalton, whose family relied on SNAP benefits for a time, this work is personal. “I had to go to the corner store with the brown and purple money to get food for our household,” she tells Food Tank. “And I saw my mother hold her head down and feel ashamed about that. And even me, as a kid, I was like ‘Oh, I hate this money because it makes us look different.’”

Dalton believes that Online SNAP is a powerful advancement that allows eaters, regardless of their income, to shop without feeling how she once did. This program “allows people who receive [SNAP] the dignity to order within their home where no one knows what type of payment you’re using,” she tells Food Tank.

That’s why the Amazon Access team is also working to spread awareness of this option to communities. “A lot of what we do both online, but mostly at the grassroots level, is to spend time actually walking people through the process…step by step,” Dalton says. From there, “we watch it in action. And then we continuously build on our instruction mechanisms and our communication mechanisms to make sure that they’re covering all of the needs of those who might be digitally adept and those who might actually need a little bit more help.”

Listen to the full conversation with Nancy Dalton on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear about overcoming the initial skepticism many eaters expressed around online grocery shopping,  how Amazon Access is partnering with community-based organizations to increase their impact, and Dalton’s focus on Food is Medicine programs to help more households access nutritious foods that meet their needs. 

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The post Overcoming Barriers to Food Access Through Digital Grocery Solutions appeared first on Food Tank.

“We have seen an uptick in food insecurity in the past year, so now we’re opening up to new types of food to come into this starving food system,” Alyson Schill, Co-Founder and CEO of Careit, tells Food Tank. “That’s happening across the U.S. right now and it’s enabling more nonprofit organizations to source relationships between donors that they previously didn’t even know about.”

Careit operates through a mobile app, where businesses can create profiles and share details about surplus food they have. Nonprofit organizations with a Careit account then receive timely notifications when a donation in their area is posted or assigned to them. Upon notification, the organization has the option to either accept or decline that donation. If it is rejected, the donation becomes available again for other potential partners. Once a match is made, both parties can use the app’s chat features to confirm the donation, record details including the weight and temperature of the food and coordinate the logistics for pickup.

“Our focus is to create an ease of use with the technological features that Careit can offer businesses that previously haven’t had the ability to donate as frequently or ever before and allow them to actually start a food donation program or expand a food donation program they previously had,” Schill tells Food Tank.

Schill says Careit is also helping grocery stores increase the amount of food they can deliver to the community through donations. Grocery stores typically have a relationship with a food bank that is connected to a variety of smaller, local organizations.

Schill says these smaller organizations are usually only able to pick up food from the store once or twice a week, and occasionally miss the pickups altogether. Careit has been able to fill in some of these gaps of missed pickups by building food donation relationships between larger grocery stores and smaller organizations. “We have been helping Sprouts Farmers Market to make sure that they have the right partners in each area so that food is distributed equitably,” she says.

Careit is also helping all of Sprouts Farmers Market locations to become compliant with SB1383, a California law requiring organic waste facilities and operations to measure and report organic waste material activity.

And the platform is broadening its focus beyond food to include household goods, including kitchen equipment, hand sanitizer, and other products. They are also exploring animal feed and have already helped farms in multiple states receive donations that they can use to care for their livestock. According to Schill, Careit’s approach toward animal feed donation is particularly notable due to longstanding issues of traceability within the industry.

“Careit is helping these smaller farms that are at the cutting edge of this old practice, that’s also new in terms of modern society’s way of viewing it, to make it visible and the norm,” Schill tells Food Tank.

Schill envisions Careit evolving into a vital resource for redistribution among nonprofit organizations, with the potential to contribute to effective emergency rescue relief as well. Careit is also initiating two partnerships in Portland, Oregon and Memphis, Tennessee aimed at establishing food donation programs and measuring their successes for future scalability.

“We’re doing some really big projects where we are helping groups of stadiums, event centers, or public places like zoos and colleges to collaborate to increase the amount of food they’re donating, to increase their composting, and then just in general, to have more sustainable practices around food systems,” Schill tells Food Tank.

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Photo courtesy of Alyson Schill

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Villalobos highlighted that the climate crisis has significantly affected agricultural production in Mexico for decades, reaching an alarming peak in recent years. In September, temperatures soared to a record high, marking the hottest September since 1941 with a notable three-degree increase above the average, according to Villalobos. 

“The impact of these high temperatures, the lack of rain, and also the problems associated with some pests and disease really impacts this particular year’s production estimate,” Villalobos says. 

While official production statistics are forthcoming, Villalobos shares that early estimates indicate that cereals, corn, and bean yields were reduced between 28 and 30 percent, which will also lead to higher prices. 

Villalobos believes that extension services, communication tools, proper soil management, and access to technology are critical first steps toward overcoming these barriers and increasing productivity. 

Mexico is collaborating with the United States Department of Agriculture and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to increase the access to technologies between Mexico and the United States. 

“We need to incorporate the most advanced tools in order to make agriculture more efficient,” Villalobos says. “We understand that we have to increase productivity without expanding the frontier of agricultural land.”

Villalobos believes that this partnership and interdependency will not only increase food production and security in Mexico and the United States, but also across the globe. 

“I think North America will be capable enough to provide the food our societies require or demand,” says Villalobos. “But we also have to recognize that we need to play a more important role as a provider of food worldwide.”

Villalobos reports that Mexico is the 7th largest exporter of agricultural products in the world, exporting to 191 different countries. 

“The advantage is the diversity,” says Villalobos. “We can produce many different products all year round because of our geographical position.”

As Villalobos looks towards the future of Mexican agriculture, he emphasizes the importance of supporting small and medium-scale farmers. Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has already made significant strides in this direction through initiatives like its Fertilizer Program. This program aims to enhance the availability of fertilizers to improve the agricultural productivity of small-scale farmers in economically marginalized regions. 

Watch the full conversation below.

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The post Mexico’s Agricultural Landscape: Overcoming Climate Challenges for a Sustainable Future appeared first on Food Tank.

Digital tools can help farmers monitor field conditions in real time, understand soil quality, plan their planting—and connect directly with consumers. Digital tools can also be costly and out of reach for smaller farmers. Data ownership and privacy are big concerns. Will the big data that underpins digitalization lead to even greater corporate control over agriculture?

From the perspective of Veronica Villas Arias of the ETC Group shared during an Agroecology Fund webinar, “when new technologies are introduced into societies who are already facing injustice and inequality, they’re just going to widen and increase those injustices and inequalities.”

Grassroots agroecology movements—recognizing that digitalization can facilitate learning and is here to stay —are asking, how can we use digitalization to strengthen farmers’ understanding of the ecosystems in which they work, their connections with other farmers, their relationships with consumers, and even their ability to access native seeds? Perhaps most fundamental to a truly sustainable food system grounded in agroecology, they’re asking, how do we use these tools to ensure equity and sustainability?

While many concerns with digitization persist, grassroots organizations are developing digital tools to help their members and scale agroecology worldwide. Ironically—and unfairly—because agroecology is proudly born from Indigenous Peoples food systems, it is sometimes painted as anachronistic and anti-technology. Agroecology, however, is rooted in adaptive learning and technologies. It is deeply scientific, and its efficacy has been proven by researchers in dozens of peer-reviewed studies.

One new technology, CropFit, developed by Thalavady Farmers Foundation in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, India connects buyers and sellers in India, in eight different languages.

Thalavady Farmers Foundation Co-founder Kannaiyan Subranamian created the tool during the COVID-19 pandemic when lockdowns prevented people from moving freely between villages to sell their crops. Subranamian himself had three acres of cabbages to sell but was unable to travel to find a market.

A first step was to talk with other farmers to find out what features and functionality they might want in such an app.

“It was a very difficult job,” says Subranamian, speaking on a recent webinar organized by the Agroecology Fund.  “I know how to do farming, organizing people and fighting in different places including in the World Trade Organization, but I did not know how to make a software that would work for the farmers.”

Subranamian sought support from other people outside of the farmer movements, found a tech provider he could trust, and produced a very useful tool.

CropFit “has brought a revolution among the farmers and buyers,” he says. It has helped farming communities learn who is growing what and where, enabling them to buy seeds from neighboring growers.

The farmers group plans to further develop its application, such as by adding livestock and chickens, a crop advisory function and market information in real time. It also plans to expand use of the tool, across Tamil Nadu and India, and eventually all over the world, Subranamian said.

Schola Campesina & Partners in Eastern Europe and Central Asia developed a mobile application called BILIM (which means knowledge in Central Asian languages) to facilitate learning exchange on agroecology across more than 10 different countries.

The region has a rich history of practicing agroecology, said Maria Anisimova, Co-Founder of Schola Campesina, which works to promote farmer to farmer knowledge sharing, especially among women and youth.

Developing the application was challenging because of the vast number of different languages in the region, which spans the Balkans, Central Asia, Syria, and Turkey.

The group conducted user centered design workshops, both remotely and live, to develop the tool.

BILIM allows users to choose and receive all content in their native language. Users can post a topic, create a discussion or group, or send a private chat.

Çiğdem Artık, chief of Çiftçi-Sen farmers union in Turkey says that Turkish farmers appreciate exchanges with farmers from countries like Pakistan, Tajikistan, or the Balkans.  “Generally, we don’t hear their voices and it’s a good advantage for us to hear their experience and knowledge.”

And the Seed Savers Network, a grassroots network of community-based organizations and cooperatives representing 74,000 Kenyan farmers developed the Seed Exchangers app to help remote farmers access native fruit tree seedlings, like dragon fruit, passion fruit, or loquat.

Indigenous fruit trees are at risk of disappearing in Kenya because of a shift in market demand toward more exotic trees. Wambui Wakahiu, a program officer at the Seed Savers Network, warns that this threatens biodiversity, food security and farmers’ ability to adapt to climate change because indigenous varieties are more climate resilient.

Farmers want to incorporate Indigenous varieties on their farms, she said, but they face many challenges accessing the seedlings.

Nursery operators and farmers in the seedlings business have trouble accessing central marketplaces where they can reach buyers, so they set up nurseries along roadsides where passersby can find them. Kenyan authorities, however, won’t certify these roadside nurseries or recognize them as legal businesses.

The Seed Savers Network developed its mobile application to address these problems. The app provides buyers with information on how to care for the plants and access to extension services.

“We are empowering smallholder farmers and small nursery operators. We are enhancing agricultural diversity, contributing to tree cover, and helping in adapting to climate change,” said Wakahiu. The group is also working to make it easier for nursery operators growing native trees to become certified.

While these are inspiring initiatives, there are barriers too. Many farmers in remote areas have poor—if any—internet connection. Ironically, the webinar in which these organizations shared their experiences faced its own connectivity challenges!

Farmers often have older phones that are incompatible with the apps. Older farmers in particular struggle with digital literacy; the average age of farmers worldwide is 57 years. Agroecology groups address these challenges with training programs. Some, like AlterMundi in Argentina, are tackling the issue of connectivity with community-led internet development projects in remote areas.

Still, some groups are hesitant to embrace digital tools, stressing concerns about the technology’s reliance on conflict minerals, companies using farmers’ data to sell them ever more expensive and addictive inputs and a broad concern that technological fixes mask deeper inequalities.

“Hunger will not be resolved by data. Digitization will also not solve structural problems of poverty and injustice,” says Arias.

That is certainly true. But what if the new digital tools are designed with principles of agroecology built into their operating systems? Agroecology rests on practices of applied learning and collaborative co-creation. And as these groups demonstrate, when digital tools are controlled by farmers and consumers, they may be able to facilitate both and ensure that digitization benefits those who technology often leaves behind.

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Photo courtesy of Diego Moreira, Wikimedia Commons

The post Agroecology Movements Turn Digitization on its Head appeared first on Food Tank.

“I wanted to leverage my four decades of experience to design a plant-based approach to scaled food service using real vegetables, grains, and legumes—along with cultural authenticity and respect – to field delicious products that help institutions address some of the most vexing challenges created by our current food system,” Michel Nischan, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wholesome Crave, tells Food Tank. “Our products naturally address climate change, biodiversity, and cultural authenticity.”

In 2007, Nischan co-founded Wholesome Wave alongside food policy leader Gus Schumacher and American food writer Michael Batterberry. The nonprofit organization strives to address diet-related diseases by helping low-income Americans buy and eat healthy fruits and vegetables. Wholesome Wave partners with community-based organizations to raise and re-invest private funding through programs that meet the unique needs of each community. According to Nischan, Wholesome Crave can help Wholesome Wave meet the challenges of traditional philanthropy in sustaining long-haul initiatives.

“Policy advocacy is difficult to find funding for, so launching a for-profit food company to steer unrestricted, tax-free gross revenue royalties to Wholesome Wave was an opportunity we needed to pursue,” Nischan says.

Through selling responsibly sourced, plant-based soups into the marketplace, Wholesome Crave directly supports food policy advocacy, such as the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) in the 2018 Farm Bill. Nischan believes that this model can reveal how food manufacturing for scaled environments can be designed for impact from the start.

“This provides Wholesome Wave with the unrestricted earned income it needs to continue its highly respected advocacy work to end nutrition insecurity and beyond,” Nischan says.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wholesome Crave focused exclusively on the corporate food service sector. However, when the pandemic disrupted their intentions to partner with other corporate accounts such as UBS and Morgan Stanley through Restaurant Associates, Wholesome Crave pivoted to establish an e-commerce platform to ensure the business’ survival. This allowed Wholesome Crave to extend its reach into the college and university sector, where a more certain return to regular business was anticipated that fall.

“We’re now in a dozen college and university institutions and counting, and corporate food service is finally showing signs of life,” Nischan says.

In February 2023, Wholesome Crave partnered with Nestlé Professional and the University of Massachusetts Dining Program to launch the Purpose-Driven Plant-Based Incubator. This partnership unites college and university food service operators in a collaborative effort to drive measurable, sustainable change in the food system by making culturally authentic, plant-forward options affordable and doable.

Wholesome Crave also recently announced a partnership with Anna Hammond’s Matriark Foods, allowing them to replace their organic vegetable base stock products with an upcycled vegetable mirepoix.

“Because soup is such a deliciously powerful platform where excess food can land, we will be looking at a variety of approaches to incorporate more into our products,” Nischan says.

As Wholesome Crave looks towards the future, Nischan says they hope to work with their Impact Board of Chefs to connect their customers with small-holder producers, supporting products like fonio, tepary beans, and indigenous heirloom corn. As they scale, Wholesome Crave is also looking to expand into other product categories beyond soup.

“The impact potential is stunning.” Nischan says. “When a facility that serves, say, 50,000 meals a day changes the onions they buy, they have a profound impact on the environment and local economy just through that one choice.”

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Photo Courtesy of Wholesome Crave. 

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“It is with great pleasure and humility that I join the ICIPE family,” Tenkouano states.” I firmly believe in inclusive innovations as the engine for transformative socio-economic development in Africa. I also recognize the complexities that must be addressed by research and development institutions to achieve this goal.”

Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, ICIPE conducts research on insects and other arthropods to develop and communicate affordable, accessible solutions to tackle crop pests and disease.

Tenkouano will help the organization advance their mission to promote sustainable development, ensure food security, and improve the health of communities in Africa.

Previously, Tenkouano served as the Executive Director of CORAF (the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development). Under his leadership, he helped the organization continue to establish itself as a reference institution in the agricultural research and development sector while championing the needs of small family farmers.

“I consider ICIPE to be ahead of the curve,” Tenkouano says, “and I look forward to continuing the rhythm of continuation and evolution set by my predecessors.”

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Photo Courtesy of Kai Pilger, Unsplash

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“Through Hope in the Water we are on a mission to reimagine a planet where both ecological balance and food abundance are possible. Our series is a fresh take on how we can rewrite menus worldwide that will create a meaningful and lasting impact for generations to come,” David E. Kelley, the producer of the series, says in the press release.

Kelley, a storytelling visionary and 13-time Emmy Award-winning producer, produced the series in collaboration with four-time James Beard Award and Emmy Award winner Chef Andrew Zimmern and his production company Intuitive Content. The series is directed by award-winning filmmaker Brian Peter Falk.

Hope in the Water embarks on a global journey, uncovering creative solutions and breakthrough blue food technologies that can save the threatened seas and fresh waterways while feeding future generations. Celebrated environmental activists, Shailene Woodley, Martha Stewart, José Andrés, and Baratunde Thurston reveal the hidden costs of the climate crisis, irresponsible fishing, and habitat destruction. The docuseries shines a light on the stories of innovators, aquafarmers, and fishers who are leading initiatives to build a sustainable future for the planet.

Hope in the Water is part of a larger multi-year impact campaign led by Fed by Blue. The nonprofit aims to provide and inspire visionaries, thought leaders, ocean enthusiasts, activists, and consumers with the knowledge and resources to help protect and participate in a responsible blue food system.

“We’re honored to be a part of the journey in bringing this important food system to bear in what are some of the most engaging conversations with thought leaders and experts,” Jennifer Bushman, co-founder of Fed by Blue, tells Food Tank. “We aim to always see how we can include our blue food system and align where we can have both water protection and water production in service to the future of food.”

Hope in the Water is part of a multi-year, multi-platform initiative from PBS exploring how every aspect of the climate crisis impacts communities, countries, and the entire planet. PBS’ Climate, Nature, & Our Planet initiative aims to provide a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding the climate crisis and explore its intersections with conservation, biodiversity, and the ecosystem.

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Photo courtesy of Hiroko Yoshii, Unsplash

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“I think we will look back at the 2024 National STEM Challenge and see it as a place where real world solutions for our existential food problems were addressed by the generation that is inheriting these hurdles from us,” Chef Andrew Zimmern, a Co-Founder of EXPLR and a “STEMbassador” for the Challenge tells Food Tank.

Students can submit a project that they have developed in one of six categories, including Future Foods. This theme asks young people to design and propose practical ideas that address equitable and sustainable food production, distribution, and consumption.

“The National STEM Challenge and Festival inspire our country’s brightest young minds to forge a future where food is a universal right, not a privilege,” Jenny Buccos, Co-Director of the National STEM Challenge, tells Food Tank.

STEM—which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics—is “everything,” says Zimmern. “Name a food issue and it’s a STEM topic, from robotics to regenerative ag, from plant based food tech to keeping foods nutritive for space travel,” Zimmern tells Food Tank. “Frankly I wish food had been more of a science subject 50 years ago when I was 12, maybe some of our current problems would have been solved already.”

In addition to the Future Food category, individuals may submit entries in the following categories: Environmental Stewardship, Health and Medicine, Powering the Planet, Space Innovation, and Tech for Good.

Students in grades 6-12 can submit their entries by November 15, 2023. Projects that have been developed for science fairs, festivals, and other competitions are all eligible.

In April 2024, the top-scoring champions from around the country will be invited to Washington D.C. to be recognized at the National STEM Festival, co-presented by the U.S. Department of Education and EXPLR.

“This event is the ultimate opportunity for every child in every community in America to get involved and dream, aspire, and work towards 21st and 22nd century solutions for everyone!” Stephen Ritz, Founder of Green Bronx Machine (GBM), a partner of EXPLR, tells Food Tank. For more than 10 years, GBM has used food and farming to engage students in STEM subjects.

“We’ll be bringing a pop-up farm to the event and rooting for the most creative, inspired, children and projects this nation has ever seen,” Ritz continues. Their pop-up farm will demonstrate a production model that uses 90 percent less water and 90 percent less space compared to traditional farming.

The National STEM Challenge is also seeking sponsors to support the Future Foods category and ensure that finalists can travel to Washington D.C. for the Festival at no cost to them or their families.

“Investing in the Festival’s Future Foods pillar goes beyond supporting mere ideas,” Buccos tells Food Tank. “It represents a pledge to our planet and its people, aiming to establish a world where food security is as fundamental as the ground beneath our feet.”

To learn more about the National STEM Challenge and submission guidelines, click HERE.

“I can’t wait to see what these brilliant young minds come to the kitchen table with in mid-April,” Zimmern says.

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Photo Courtesy of Green Bronx Machine

The post The National STEM Challenge Calls on Young Innovators to Imagine a Better Food Future appeared first on Food Tank.