Nourishing Innovation: Campus Nutrition and Food Security Contest
Nourishing Innovation is a contest for students at BCIT, SFU, UNBC, and VIU to develop innovative solutions to address food security on campus. Prizes for finalists and winning teams range from $500 to $2,000. The winning ideas will be implemented at each campus at the start of the Fall 2021 semester.
The finalists that advanced to the next phase of the contest were:
- Fresh Food for All, BCIT
- Guardians of Ghrelin, BCIT
- Tatti Food Team, BCIT
- The Garden Buddies, BCIT
- Flexi-Lunch Team, SFU
- Food Justice Coop, SFU
- Eco Living Kitchen, UNBC
- VIU Peace Garden Club, VIU (also winner of the People’s Choice Award)
Due to the heat wave and school closures, the Pitch Event has been cancelled. Due to scheduling challenges, we are unable to have one Pitch Event. Instead, videos of individual pitch sessions will be uploaded after they have taken place.
Contest Gallery
All Entries
Pitch Event Videos
Contest Rules
- All current students (full-time and part-time) at the partner institutions (British Columbia Institute of Technology, Simon Fraser University, University of Northern British Columbia, and Vancouver Island University) who are continuing their studies in the Fall 2021 semester may participate in this contest. Students who are graduating or recently graduated (must have been registered as a student in the Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 semester), or are starting studies in Fall 2021 are also eligible to participate, however will need to be on a team with at least one continuing student.
- Students may participate as individuals or in teams of up to four students. Teams may be formed by students from different partner institutions. Include the names, institutions, and official institutional email addresses of all team members in your contest entry submission form.
- Only one contest entry per student (i.e. you can only be part of one team). Any students submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
- The contest entry (video and description) must be generated by the student participants.
- Ideas are to be presented in a video up to 3 minutes in length with a description of up to 200 words, which serves as the contest entry. All videos greater than 3 minutes in length will be disqualified.
- Contest entries must be submitted via the form on the Nourishing Innovation website. Please do not submit contest entries by any other means.
- Contest entries may be submitted from May 6 at 2:00pm PDT to June 6 at 11:59pm PDT.
- The identity and student status of finalists and winners will be verified before their prizes are confirmed.
Evaluation Criteria
Contest entries will be evaluated based on this criteria. When preparing your contest entry, ensure that it covers each of the items outlined in the criteria descriptions. You can cover the items below between the video and written description (i.e. you don’t need to repeat everything in both, as long as it’s included in the video or the description).
Food Security Potential (0 to 10 points)
- What is your solution?
- How will this solution be able to address challenges with student food security at your university campus?
Implementation Potential (0 to 10 points)
- Which university campus is this solution designed for?
- What would you need to do to implement this solution at your university campus? Be specific (e.g. staff resources, land, facilities, equipment).
- How realistic is it for this idea to be able to be led by students (with support from staff) at your university campus?
JEDDI* (0 to 10 points)
- How will this solution reduce barriers to participation and enable a sense of belonging for students from communities that are traditionally marginalized?
- How will this solution honour the traditional beliefs, ways of knowing, and practices of our Indigenous relations?
- How will the solution address the needs of students from diverse and intersectional identities?
Communications (0 to 3 points)
- Clear and concise presentation of the idea
- Quality of the video
What happens after I submit my entry?
- All contest entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges from the partner institutions based on the evaluation criteria. Up to 8 finalists (teams) will be chosen to advance to the second round (1 finalist from each partner institution + 4 finalists based on the highest scoring submissions). Each finalist will receive a $500 prize. Finalists will be notified of their selection by June 17. Finalists will also be announced on the website and social media.
- A “People’s Choice Award” will be given to the contest entry that receives the most number of votes and a $500 prize. You are welcome to encourage your friends to vote. Anyone with an institutional email address can vote, including current students, alumni, staff, and faculty.
- Finalists are invited to an online solutions pitch event on June 28 from 1-3 pm PDT. Further details on this event will be provided to finalists. The prizes to be awarded at the online solutions pitch event are $2,000 for first place, $1,500 for second place, and $1,000 for third place. Winners will be announced on the website and social media.
- The winning solution (or combination of the winning solution plus runner-ups) will be implemented at the partner institutions in Fall 2021.
Frequently Asked Questions
Participant Requirements and Involvement
Can I participate in this contest if I am graduating this term (Spring 2021)? How about if I am not currently a student but will be starting my studies in Fall 2021?
Yes, but only if you are on a team with a current continuing student.
I am a student at a satellite campus. Can I participate in this contest?
Yes, absolutely!
Can I involve other people in my contest entry who are not students at one of the partner institutions?
You may consult with other people on your project idea (e.g. ask for feedback from a staff or faculty member at your university). However, the preparation of the contest entry (video and description) must be the original work of the student(s) on your team.
After the pitch event, how will the student(s) of the winning idea(s) be involved?
We will be preparing an implementation plan for each institution over the summer and anticipate that the students will be involved to review and provide feedback on the plan (e.g. a 1-2 hour meeting and some follow-up emails). The student involvement in the implementation during the Fall 2021 semester will depend on what the solution is and the interest/availability of the student(s) from the winning team(s). Likely there will be some involvement in promotion and/or volunteer recruitment.
Funding
Who is funding this contest?
This contest is funded by the McConnell Foundation through the BC Collaborative for Social Infrastructure (see the About Us section).
Is there a budget for the implementation of the winning idea?
There is a budget of $20,000 for implementation of the winning idea for all the of the participating institutions. The division of this funding will be determined during the implementation phase based on the needs and resources available at each institution.
Ideas
Does the idea need to be a new idea? Can an existing project be pitched?
No, the idea does not need to be a new idea. You may pitch an existing project. However, if you are pitching an existing project and it is not one that you are already leading, please consult with the project leaders first to check that you can pitch their project.
Does the idea need to be something that can be implemented right away, or can it be a longer-term solution?
We welcome all types of solutions, short- and long-term. If you are pitching a longer-term solution, please identify what part of this solution can be started in the Fall 2021 semester.
Can the idea be a project that is taking place at other schools (outside of the partner institutions)?
Yes, however the pitch should be about how that can be implemented at one of the partner institution. Furthermore, the entry must be prepared by students from the partner institutions.
Voting
Who can vote for videos in this contest?
Anyone with an email address with one of the partner institutions (BCIT, SFU, UNBC, VIU) can vote for the videos. This includes current students, alumni, staff, and faculty. Voting is limited to one vote per video per email address. Please use your official institution email address for voting. Any votes cast by a non-institution email address will not be counted.
How can I vote for a video?
Go to the gallery page for the contest. In the bottom right corner of the video that you would like to vote for, click on Vote. Enter your first name, last name, and institutional email address and click on Vote.
Can I vote for multiple videos?
Yes, you can vote for multiple videos, including those from other partner institutions. However, you can only vote once per video.
Can I vote for my own video?
Yes, you can!
Will the number of votes affect how the judges evaluate the submissions?
No, the number of votes received by each submission only counts towards the People’s Choice Award. Judges do not know the vote count of each submission. They evaluate submissions solely based on the evaluation criteria.
Entry Form
How do I upload my video?
Please upload your video first to a streaming service (YouTube, Vimeo, or Instagram) and then paste the link for the video into the contest entry form.
Can I edit my entry after I submit it?
Unfortunately entries cannot be edited after they are submitted. Please double check your entry before submitting. If you need to make substantial changes (e.g. change the video or description), then please email hello@nourishinginnovation.ca to have your submission taken down and then you can upload a new one. Note that all votes will be lost from your original entry. If the changes are just for contact information (e.g. names, email addresses), then those can be edited by the contest coordinator. Again, please email hello@nourishinginnovation.ca.
Student Ambassadors
Who are the student ambassadors?
Student ambassadors are students from one of the partner institutions whose role is to promote the contest to the student body and encourage students to participate. Student ambassadors are eligible to participate in the contest. Note that student ambassadors do not receive any information about the contest beyond what is posted to the website and social media. They work directly with the contest coordinator, who is not a member of the steering committee nor the panel of judges.
Pitch Event
Can other people besides the finalists attend the pitch event?
Yes! Please check back on the website later to register.
About Us
The BC Collaborative for Social Infrastructure (BCCSI) is a joint project between BCIT, UNBC, SFU, and VIU funded by the McConnell Foundation to advance and scale BC higher education social infrastructure to strengthen communities while sharing knowledge. This project has four pillars with one focused on a ‘Green and Sustainable Campus and community’. This pillar has since focused on addressing and supporting each institution’s social, cultural and environmental challenges with food systems. The steering committee for this pillar has representatives from all institutions. There is also a wider stakeholder group from each of the institutions as well as local community food system experts and practitioners. The BCCSI created Nourishing Innovation to engage students in taking leadership on creating and implementing solutions to improve nutrition and food security on campus.
Food was used and continues to be used as a means of colonialism that has resulted in intergenerational trauma and harm to our Indigenous relations. Through working collaboratively, we hope to bring back the healing, spiritual, and cultural importance of food as a start to walking the path of reconciliation with our Indigenous relations.
Partner Institutions
The British Columbia Institute of Technology acknowledges that our campuses are located on the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish Nations of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam).
Simon Fraser University respectfully acknowledges the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Qayqayt, Kwantlen, Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen peoples on whose traditional territories our three campuses reside.
The University of Northern British Columbia Prince George campus is situated on the traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, part of the Dakelh (Carrier) First Nations. The South-Central campus in Quesnel is situated on the traditional territory of the Lhtako Dené (Red Bluff Band), Nazko, Lhoosk’uz Dené Nation (Kluskus Band), and ?Esdilagh First Nations (formerly Alexandria Band). Lhtako, Nazko, and Lhoosk’uz are Dakelh First Nations, and ?Esdilagh is a member of the Tsilhqot’in Nation. The Peace River-Liard campus in Fort St. John is situated on the traditional territory of the Doig River, Blueberry River and Halfway River First Nations. They are the Dunne-Za people. The Northwest campus in Terrace is situated on traditional Ts’msyen (Tsimshian) territory of the Kitsumkalum and Kitselas First Nations. It includes a satellite campus in the coastal community of Prince Rupert. UNBC also holds an affiliation agreement with the Wilp Wilxo’oskwhl (House of Wisdom) Nisga’a Institute (WWNI), a federated Aboriginal post-secondary institution established in 1993. The WWNI is located in the Nass Valley in the village of Gitwinksihlkw.
The VIU community acknowledges and thanks the Snuneymuxw, Quw’utsun and Tla’amin, on whose traditional lands we teach, learn, research, live and share knowledge.