NIU will host a Sustainable Food Systems Innovation Challenge event for college students age 18 and older on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 11 and 12, with a focus on food justice.
The 24-hour challenge pushes teams of students to use their multidisciplinary skills to create solutions to pressing worldwide problems related to sustainable food systems.
Students of all skill levels are welcome to participate in the event, which will be held at the Holmes Student Center. There is no charge for the challenge entry, and participants will be provided with meals, drinks, snacks, T-shirts, mentorship and relaxation time.
The event will feature presentations by Will McIntee, senior advisor for public engagement at The White House, along with Dion Dawson, a hunger/food insecurity disrupter.
This is the second year the event is being presented by the NIU Office of Innovation. Last year’s event attracted nearly 100 students from six different institutions.
“We’re hoping to draw between 150 to 200 college students this year from across the Midwest who are passionate about food systems, who care about the future of food resources and who desire to make positive change in their world,” said Bryan Flower, Office of Innovation assistant director of food systems innovation and director of NIU’s Edible Campus initiative.
Participants will work toward solving a problem statement related to food justice. Industry and academic professionals will be on hand to mentor the students, with hopes of helping them get on the podium for the amazing cash prizes being awarded to the winning teams.
“This event is more of a societal solutions-based event,” Flower said. “It’s about getting teams together and spending 24 hours working toward creating viable solutions to the problem.”
NIU is about to embark on a significant journey with the building of its Northern Illinois Center for Community Sustainability. The center’s three main pillars of research—water resource management, climate adaptation and food systems innovation—all weave themselves into the challenge’s focus.
“As part of NIU’s vison and mission, we serve society and confront local, national and global challenges through collaborations that improve our learning, teaching and research,” said Karinne Bredberg, NIU’s director of innovation.
“What better way to move the university forward than to highlight our commitment to this mission by helping build a platform where students can collaborate on solutions to some of the most pressing issues of our time,” Bredberg added. “This event has the ability to showcase NIU in its pursuit of a better world for all.”