CHICAGO – November 28, 2023 – The Institute of Food Technologists and Seeding The Future Foundation are proud to announce the Seed Grant winners as well as finalists for Growth Grants and Grand Prizes for the third annual Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge. Seed Grants are awarded to organizations that create innovative ideas to transform food systems and have developed a prototype or initial proof of concept demonstrating that their idea is feasible and highly impactful when scaled.
The USD $1 million Challenge, which received more than 900 submissions from 78 countries this year, is focused on high-impact innovations that lead to significant food system advances that support safe and nutritious food for a healthy diet, sustainable practices including regenerative agriculture, and equitable access to food that is affordable, appealing, and trusted by consumers.
The eight Seed Grant winners each receiving USD $25,000 are as follows:
“We are thrilled about the quality, innovative nature, and potential impact of this year’s Seed Grant winners. They demonstrate and embody the core intent of the Challenge – impactful innovations that address the biggest challenges facing food systems across the globe. While we celebrate these eight deserving winners today, every team that submitted its project for consideration deserves our recognition and gratitude, as do the scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs out there doing their part to improve our global food system,” said Bernhard van Lengerich, PhD, founder of Seeding The Future Foundation.
IFT CEO Christie Tarantino-Dean added: “The Global Food System Challenge is truly one of the most inspirational and impactful food challenges being conducted, and its continued rise in popularity among top global innovators is incredibly gratifying as their vision and commitment mirrors IFT’s mission of connecting global food system communities to promote and advance the science of food.”
The Growth Grant finalists and Grand Prize finalists have also been identified. Three Growth Grant winners will be awarded USD $100,000 each, while the two Grand Prize winners will be awarded USD $250,000 each. Winners will be announced in January 2024.
Visit Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge for more information.
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is a global organization of approximately 12,000 individual members from more than 100 countries committed to advancing the science of food. Since 1939, IFT has brought together the brightest minds in food science, technology and related professions from academia, government, and industry to solve the world’s greatest food challenges. IFT works to ensure that its members have the resources they need to learn, grow, and advance the science of food as the population and the world evolve. IFT believes that science is essential to ensuring a global food supply that is sustainable, safe, nutritious, and accessible to all. For more information, please visit ift.org.
The Seeding The Future Foundation is a private, non-profit organization motivated by its core value that everyone should always have equitable access to safe, nutritious, affordable, appealing, and trusted food. It seeks to inspire innovative solutions that can help transform the global food system to be more sustainable and benefit the health of people and the environment. The Foundation provides seed funding and support to promising ideas and high impact innovations to imparove food systems globally, technologies to reduce post-harvest losses in developing regions, as well as foundational work in academia and research. For more information, please visit seedingthefuture.org.
Dennis Van Milligen
Senior Manager, Public and Media Relations
Institute of Food Technologists
630-853-3022
[email protected]
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The Seeding The Future Foundation and Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) are proud to announce the return of the Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge, which awards USD $1 million every year to scientists, engineers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and multidisciplinary teams across non-governmental organizations (NGOs), non-profits, social enterprises, universities, research institutions, and small and emerging for-profit enterprises for their innovations that will help transform food systems globally.
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is hosting a webinar on “Artificial Food Colors: Consumer Concerns Shaping Policy and Industry” that will be held on Friday, October 11, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. CDT.
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is proud to announce that Viral Shukla from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, has taken over as President of the Institute of Food Technologists Student Association (IFTSA) effective September 1, 2024.
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