Feeding Tomorrow Increases Access, Simplifies Scholarship Application Process

IFT's foundation, Feeding Tomorrow, started 35 years ago as a conduit to provide scholarship funds for future food scientists. Today, that remains a key part of its mission.

During the last year, Feeding Tomorrow awarded 55 academic scholarships totaling $108,300 to first-year, undergraduate, and graduate students pursuing degrees in a variety of disciplines within the science of food. The scholarship dollars not only provide much appreciated financial support but in many cases, opportunities that may not have otherwise existed.

In an exciting move, Feeding Tomorrow is increasing access to higher education by opening its scholarship program to more students studying the science of food. The foundation is now accepting applications for more than 30 undergraduate scholarships and more than 20 graduate scholarship opportunities with eligibility rules expanded from previous years.

“As an organization, we are committed to actively addressing barriers to education, especially for those who are most impacted by food inequity. Without this, we cannot fulfill our mission of inspiring food scientists to feed a growing and diverse population,” said Feeding Tomorrow Chair Brenda Knapp-Polzin. 

Changes to Feeding Tomorrow’s scholarship program focused on two areas: increasing eligibility for scholarships and making it easier to apply. In addition to the 14 undergraduate scholarships that require recipients to be enrolled in a program approved by the IFT Higher Education Review Board, Feeding Tomorrow added 14 new scholarships for students in other programs. Four of those new scholarships are specifically designated for first-year students. 

Opening access to scholarships helps Feeding Tomorrow create a talented and diverse pipeline of future food scientists who will go on to help the generation after them. “Feeding Tomorrow has helped me to relieve some of the financial burdens of college but has also inspired me to use my knowledge in the future to do good,” says scholarship recipient Rose Spahn.

To streamline the application process, Feeding Tomorrow revamped its marketing language to be more inclusive and encourage a broader range of students to apply. It reviewed the application itself to remove any unnecessary barriers to completion and worked to increase awareness efforts by enlisting scholarship recipient ambassadors and academic coordinators to help spread the word to more students. Feeding Tomorrow also conducted a diversity, equity, and inclusion audit with its scholarship vendor to remove potential bias and increase transparency. 

The foundation has made a pledge to undertake an annual review process with stakeholder input to sustain these efforts over the long term.

Undergraduate and graduate scholarship applications are open now. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2022. To learn more about these opportunities, visit our Scholarship page.