Barilla Center Cultivates Next Generation of Food Leaders

Young people are the future of food security. By 2050, youth, ages 15-24, are expected to reach 1.4 billion, or 14 percent of the population. At Food Tank, we recognize youth as the next generation of food system leaders.

Across the globe, young leaders are making their voices heard in the food system. From September 21-23, 2015, 75 alumni of the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) network will travel from 17 countries to gather at the 2015 Milan EXPO. The alumni will develop recommendations with guidance from food system experts, launching a youth manifesto at the end of the event.

By handing the manifesto over to the Dubai 2020 Representatives, these young people will give voice to a worldwide network of their peers. Danielle Nierenberg, President of Food Tank will speak at the event and meet these inspiring and innovative young people from around the globe.

Many of the students and youth leaders are alumni of the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition’s Young Earth Solutions (BCFN YES!) program, which is a laboratory for solutions to the problems of hunger, food sustainability, nutrition, and fairness. Ten finalists from the 2015 BCFN YES! competition will participate in the 7th International Forum on Food and Nutrition on October 23, 2015 at the Milan EXPO 2015 to engage with international leaders on food sustainability topics.

Online voters can choose their favorite projects from 30 finalists. This year’s finalists include Oluwafemi Ajayi, who is using traditional snack foods to fight protein-energy malnutrition in Nigeria, and Achmad Solikhin, who is implementing sustainable agroforestry in Indonesia.

The final evaluation of projects will take place during the 7^th International Forum, where finalist participants will give short presentations before a panel of judges. The winning individual or student team will receive a prize of €10,000 (US$11,295) to help make their idea a reality.

“It is really very important that we young people get involved in finding solutions to current challenges, to improve the food system, reduce obesity, improve and promote sustainable agriculture,” says Gianna Bonis-Profumo, winner of the 2014 BCFN YES! competition. “It’s an important opportunity to meet people with big ideas and create a network to help make the world a better place.”

Do you know any young people acting as agents of positive change in your community and beyond? We want to know about these leaders! Share your ideas with me at Danielle@foodtank.com! And SHARE this note with your network!

Emily Nink

Emily is a masters candidate of the Agriculture, Food and Environment program at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston. She received a BA in Spanish and a BS in Global Environmental Change and Sustainability from Johns Hopkins University, where she was involved in many food sustainability projects including the creation of a community garden and leadership of the student group Real Food Hopkins, a chapter of the national Real Food Challenge. Emily worked for three years as a research assistant at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, researching food policy councils, writing curriculum for the Baltimore Food and Faith Project, and contributing to literature reviews and other scientific analyses. Emily's diverse academic interests include urban food policy and food system mapping, urban agriculture and community gardening, and sustainable supply chains. Her senior thesis at JHU explored heirloom tomato production in Maryland, and her current research focuses on sensory attributes of local produce in Massachusetts. She has contributed as a consultant to interdisciplinary projects and continues to be involved with Real Food Challenge. Through her masters degree at Tufts, she hopes to continue to learn from and contribute to the scholarship of a more sustainable food system, finding innovative solutions to complex system flaws, and increasing through investigation our knowledge of the intricate relationships between public health and the health of the environment.