The Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition
The Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition Foundation (BCFN) is a private non-profit apolitical institution established in 2009. The multidisciplinary research team includes professionals from different fields such as economy, nutrition, psychology and geography. The Advisory Board guarantees for the Foundation’s activities, and is composed of scientists and internationally renowned experts.
The BCFN Foundation analyzes and formulates proposals to address urgent issues related to the food system and the state of global nutrition. The activities of the BCFN are aimed at establishing an open dialogue and fostering wellbeing on a worldwide scale, publishing valuable and open-access scientific content to help everybody make conscious choices every day about food and nutrition, health and sustainability. Since 2009, the BCFN has periodically published studies, papers, and informative magazines about what is going on in the scientific world and the civil solutions that are emerging in the various areas. It has promotes an annual International Forum, supported research programs and launched initiatives such as the Milan Protocol and the Youth Manifesto.
The BCFN International Forum on Food & Nutrition is an annual event to analyze and discuss global food-related matters. The plenary sessions and the workshops invite participants to reflect on urgent issues such as climate change, agricultural productivity, water management, food waste, dietary habits, urbanization, and population growth. The days of the Forum are free and open to the public. About 2,000 participants attended the last edition, and 17,000 connected via streaming across the globe.
The BCFN YES! Research Grant Competition
The Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition has been supporting the active participation of young people since 2012, the year Young Earth Solutions was launched. The initiative aims to give young people the space and a voice to air their ideas about creating a healthier and more measured food system. Since 2016 the competition is aimed for young PhD and postdoc researchers coming from around the world and with any educational background. First prize is a research grant worth €20,000 which will be awarded to a one-year project promoting the environmental, economic and/or social sustainability of the agrifood system. Selected finalists are invited to the International Forum on Food and Nutrition in Milan to present their project, individually or as a team, to a panel of experts and the public attending the Forum. In this occasion, winners are selected by the BCFN Jury and awarded. All finalists become BCFN Alumni, a global network bringing together the finalists of all editions where resources and experiences are shared and the dialogue on these topics is kept alive.
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