Inspiring Next-Gen Scientists: NCFIL Featured in Food Technology Magazine

The NC Food Innovation Lab participated in a first-of-its-kind 2024 summer camp that works to educate, engage and inspire the next generation of scientists and food innovators, as featured in Food Technology Magazine.

The George Washington Carver Food Research Institute (GWCFRI) and Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) welcomed 16 high school students last summer to Explore Ag STEAM Camp. The free, 10-day experience was designed to introduce underrepresented youths to careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) disciplines in food and agriculture with hands-on experiences that explore facets of agriculture and food production from farm to fork.

Innovative Lab, Commercial Connection

At the North Carolina Research Campus, NCFIL Pilot Plant Manager Joe Hildebrand led the teens on guided tours of its innovative research and development space, where they learned about the fundamental phases of food development and explored the lab’s culinary kitchen and pilot plant.

“You can do everything in this plant, from extractions to retorting and canning, to blending, homogenizing and pasteurizing,” says Angela Cauley, IFT member and GWCFRI co-founder. 

“All of these urban kids have seen a KitchenAid blender, but not a large-scale mixer in an industrial setting. So, that step between the kitchen level to the pilot plant, where they could envision commercially producing food in a large-scale facility, was eye-opening and exciting for them.”

Find Out More

To learn more about the inaugural Explore Ag STEAM Camp and its tour of NCFIL, read the full IFT article here. If you seek guidance taking your plant-based food idea through the production process, reach out to us.