BCA Student is NJ Winner for the World Food Prize

Elizabeth Rutenberg, a Ridgewood resident and a junior in the Bergen County Academies, Academy for the Advancement for Science and Technology has won the World Food Prize Competition.

In order to be considered for participation, students identify a country of interest and research a

topic affecting the global food system, then propose an evidence-based solution to improve the

lives of families living within the country. The student provides background on the country and issue, and then proposes a solution and outlines the steps to implement that solution. Elizabeth researched Kenya, and identified irrigation of agriculture to be an issue; she proposed a type of drip irrigation (comparing that with less effective irrigation methods) and also outlined a plan to have it funded through Charity organizations to by-pass the corruption in the Kenyan Gov't. After writing the paper, Elizabeth had to present her research and then defend it in front of a live panel of students and judges from Rutgers University. This occurred before the pandemic. She was chosen as the NJ representative to attend the WFP in Iowa in October 20202 where she again presented the paper and defended her solution; now in front of students and judges from all over the world. The WFP still took place in Iowa, but the Teen Summit was a virtual event.

Students presented their original research papers and participated in roundtable discussions with leading experts in agricultural industries, technological innovation and international policy. For the first time in the history of GYI, student delegates were given the opportunity to share their ideas from their research papers in a collaborative report that will be submitted to the advisors of the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit. Participants also took part in an exclusive cooking demonstration, hosted by the Food Forever Initiative, to better understand the importance of biodiversity within our food system and diets.