New Institute + New Leadership
The mission of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University is to generate trusted science, educate future leaders, and produce real world impact in nutrition science and policy. Multi-sector collaboration is one core strategy to achieve this mission. At the new Food & Nutrition Innovation Institute (FNII), it's all about engaging expertise, perspectives, and resources from diverse sectors in order to create and apply dynamic, interdisciplinary solutions to the most pressing challenges in nutrition science and policy.
Katie Stebbins, the FNII's new Executive Director who joined the school this year, has a long history of bringing together communities and working on public-private partnerships in the service of more equitable and sustainable development. Read more about Katie and her journey to the Friedman School's innovation hub.
The 2020 Innovation Summit
As part of Innovation Week at the FNII, the 2020 Summit featured three panels with speakers from across the food system discussing some of the big questions about COVID-19 as it relates to food and nutrition, and a closing panel with all speakers joining in to close out the week's activities. Read more and watch the discussions online if you weren't able to be there on event day!
- Session 1: Innovations for an Equitable Food System featured Tracey Brown, CEO of the American Diabetes Association; David Waters, CEO of Community Servings; Yvonne Maddox, President & CEO of the TA Thornton Foundation; with renowned food author and Senior Lecturer at the Friedman School Corby Kummer moderating
- Session 2: Innovations for Food is Medicine featured Emily Broad Leib, Director of the Food Law & Policy Clinic at Harvard University; Christina Ferzli, Head of Global Corporate Affairs at Ocean Spray; Noosheen Hashemi, Founder & CEO of January, Inc.; Congressman Jim McGovern, US House of Representatives, 2nd District of Massachusetts; with Associate Professor at the Friedman School Fang Fang Zhang moderating
- Session 3: Nutrition Innovations to Address COVID-19 featured Simin Meydani, Director of the Nutritional Immunology Team at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging; Tawanda Muzhingi, Senior Scientist at the International Potato Center; Antonio Tataranni, Deputy Chief Scientific Officer at PepsiCo; with William Li, President & Medical Director of the Angiogenesis Foundation moderating
The 2020 Entrepreneurship Competition
Now sitting within the recently-launched Food & Nutrition Innovation Institute, the 3rd Annual Tufts Food and Nutrition Entrepreneurship Competition looked a little different this year and was moved from April to October, but it remained the same fast-paced ideas pitch competition that we know and love! In collaboration with the Tufts Gordon Institute, we've been expanding our reach and adding more prizes and awards to the event. The 2020 Tufts Food and Entrepreneurship Competition winner fit the needs of the moment with a new take on local food distribution and supply chains. In a year that changed everything, our competitors found new ways to pitch, new networks to nurture, and new ideas to make our food system more compassionate and equitable.
1st Place Winner - The Sacramento Valley Food Hub
A team of Friedman alumni supporting small farmers in Sacramento Valley, California, took home the top prize in the Friedman School’s Food and Nutrition Entrepreneurship Competition.
The Sacramento Valley Food Hub, a food distribution platform connecting beginning farmers with schools, hospitals, and other institutional customers, received both the $20,000 first prize and the $5,000 audience choice prize at the 2020 competition, which was held on Zoom. Five teams participated in the annual competition, which is held in collaboration with the Tufts Gordon Institute and open to Tufts students, alumni, staff, and faculty.
The team behind the Sacramento Valley Food Hub consisted of New Entry Sustainable Farming manager Jacob Weiss, N20, and his classmates Cyrena Thibodeau and Emily Moschowits, among others. Weiss delivered the team’s 10-minute pitch and answered questions from judges, who included representatives from Friedman and various food, wellness, healthcare, and investment companies.
“Throughout all this growth and investment, I want to make sure beginning farmers in marginalized communities don’t get left behind. We see ourselves being advocates for farmers, because of having those tight relationships and knowing them really well.”
Jacob Weiss, N20, The Sacramento Valley Food Hub
2nd & 3rd Place Winners - Farewell + Swap Truck
The second place prize of $15,000 went to Julie Sanduski, A13, and Jennifer Sanduski, A13, who proposed Farewell—a breathable, modular compost bin designed with eucalyptus fibers for city dwellers with small spaces and busy schedules.
Coming in third place with $10,000 was an all-Friedman School team—Alexis Babaian, N20, project manager Hannah McFarlane, professor Christina Economos, and assistant professor Erin Hennessy—with the Swap Truck, a hybrid ice cream truck and food truck model aiming to bring nutritious, affordable snacks to communities of all incomes.
The winners all received big virtual cheers from the audience and were celebrated with colorful and hilarious prize announcement slides made by Katie Stebbins' own daughters, who we suspect are both budding entrepreneurs of their own, or at least future graphic designers.
Other Competing Teams & Ideas
Participants also included Sean Harrington, A14, with athlete nutrition optimization platform Notemeal; and Benjamin Sawicki, V16, with Sea Dragon Aquaculture, offering sustainably grown organic shrimp.
Friedman School Professor Jeff Blumberg, who oversaw the judges’ deliberations, said it was a difficult decision. “These are some excellent pitch plans,” he told the teams. “The judges were just thrilled to see everything you had to offer.”
Weiss also addressed the teams in the spirit of a true entrepreneur. “You should all do your things, too,” he told them. “They sounded really cool, and I’m happy to bounce ideas off each other.”
50000
Thousand Dollars in Total Prize & Awards
5
Competition Finalists
4
Prize Winners
1
Grand Prize Winner
Update On The 2019 Winners
The 2019 competition winners and runners up took home $25,000 in prizes. Now they are using their new capital to make their business dreams a reality and creating positive social and environmental impacts along the way.
Team Baravena
The first-place winner of the 2019 Entrepreneurship Competition was Baravena:
- Silvia Berciano Benitez, Graduate student at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy (Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition)
- Nayla Bezares, Graduate student at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy (Agriculture, Food and Environment)
They created a sustainable and healthy oat cream desert by creating flavors and branding that celebrated their Latin American cultures and flavors. Team Baravena won the judges over with their top-notch pitching skills and product samples. Learn more about their journey since winning and how they've been deftly navigating the process of starting a business during a year full of unexpected challenges.
Read more about all of the teams from 2019 and past prize winners on our new FNII site!
Creating New Conversations & Building Connections
Executive Director Katie Stebbins is also beginning to create new networks through more casual events and opportunities to connect. One program they've recently launched, in conjunction with the new Ellie Block & Family Career Services Center, is a new video interview series called "Let's Meet Where We Eat." Katie even kicked off the series as the first interviewee for the program! She had a fun and food-focused conversation with our new Director of Career Services Melissa Palmer in the pilot episode. Take a look and learn how you can connect with Katie and the FNII to join the program.
The Friedman School is proud to continue building our hub of nutrition entrepreneurship and innovation where students, faculty, scientists, companies small and large, advisers, and funders can come together to create new strategies and approaches for a healthier, sustainable, and more equitable food supply. Look out for the next University-wide annual Food and Nutrition Entrepreneurship Competition scheduled for Spring 2021.