The Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) and Heinz have announced that they are to sponsor the TeenTech ‘Future of Food’ award later this year.

TeenTech, headed by former UK television presenter Maggie Philbin, was founded in 2008 to engage UK secondary school students with STEM subjects and inspire them with the opportunities open to them in science, engineering, technology and mathematics.

The TeenTech awards cover ten categories within STEM and challenge students to look at problems, and come up with a better way of doing things. Students work in teams of up to three to develop an idea in their chosen category, with support from the sponsoring organisations.

Teams entering the ‘Future of Food’ category will consider questions such as ‘what are some ways to grow food in cities where there is little land’ and ‘how can we use technology to make sure that all the food we eat at home is safe?’
“As an institute we see it as vital that we look at ways of stimulating the minds of students to consider the science and technology behind our food,” says IFST chief executive Jon Poole. “The TeenTech awards seems a great way to achieve this and we look forward to working with Heinz to support the teams who have chosen to focus on the ‘Future of Food’ for their projects.”