Food Science for Relief and Development (FSRD) is the application of food science and technology to enhance food security, health, and economic prosperity for global humanitarian and development purposes.
Food-related aid has traditionally centered on humanitarian crises, agriculture in development, and nutrition. These are critically important areas for addressing food and nutrition insecurity, but FSRD seeks to create a more comprehensive food system that would allow food science to connect and enhance all three areas. FSRD can be utilized in both acute and chronic aid situations, and incorporates long-term sustainability and food options that are precisely fit for their purpose.
Justification
One of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is Zero Hunger, with a target date of 2030. The aim of the goal is to end hunger on a global scale and ensure all people have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food all year round - in other words, food and nutrition security.
Unfortunately, since 2015 the number of people who go hungry has been increasing. Currently, 821 million people are undernourished and 135 million people are experiencing a crisis level of food and nutrition security. If current trends continue over 840 million people will be undernourished by 2030. Additionally, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to put an additional 130 million people on the brink of acute hunger.
To help reverse these trends, principles of food science should be utilized in the fight against food and nutrition insecurity. In fact, the United Nations highlights the importance of science, technology, and innovation in ensuring food security in their 2017 report by the Economic and Social Council.
According to 
the Food and Agriculture Organization, there are four dimensions of food nutrition and security: food availability, access to food, food utilization, and food stability. The principles of food science and technology encompass each of these four areas yet, to date, have not been adequately employed.
Key Points
FSRD’s holistic and inclusive methodology includes the following features:
- Emphasizes long-term development approaches to include prevention, relief, improvement and rehabilitation
- Implemented in consultation with local communities and other partners
- Utilizes locally sourced materials and resources
- Employs culturally appropriate and innovative food solutions
- Human-centered
- Economically and technically feasible
- Sustainable
- Useful in both long-term development and emergency relief situations
FSRD implementation is multidisciplinary, involving experts in nutrition, product development, food safety, compliance, process engineering and quality control. It also encourages partnerships with governments, the private sector, donors, NGOs, academia and other organizations. In addition, the design and execution of FSRD projects requires the involvement of the intended beneficiaries, particularly women.
Get Involved!
The FSRD program is continually seeking a diverse group of volunteers from around the world to research and write case studies on how food science and technology has enabled food security and economic development in low income areas. It’s an interesting learning experience and a great way to contribute to the knowledge base.
If you’d like to contribute cases, you can join the Case Study Team by contacting Donna Rosa. We have a basic template to guide you, and we work in teams of two for each case.
Contact Donna Rosa at donna@donnamrosa.com
.jpg "International Division (2)")
