The contest organized by the Barilla Foundation is aimed at young students, to identify projects that change our approach to food, for our wellbeing and the good of the planet

Almost 80 Italian secondary school classes took part in the contest organized by the Barilla Foundation, called “Us, Food and Our Planet - IN ACTION”. The project was launched last January to encourage and promote food and environment sustainability. Each teacher had to provide a multimedia report to illustrate what they learned from their students and what they rielaborated autonomously. The three winning projects were announced during the event “Health, Food and Sustainable Agriculture: educating the adults of tomorrow” at the Sustainable Development Festival held at the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR). 

“Objective: Zero Hunger”

Presented by class 3^F of Istituto Tecnico Agrario Statale “Giuseppe Garibaldi” in Rome, “Objective: Zero Hunger” is inspired by the SDG 2 (End Hunger); with the challenges we face to support agriculture in the Mediterrenean area in mind, students imagined possible solutions, based on what they learned during discussions and conferences held by experts in the agrifood sector. 

FoodLine

Food as a cultural mediator was the focus of the project presented by class 4^A of Istituto Tecnico IIS Cassata-Gattapone in Gubbio. The students in Gubbio focused on sustainable food and different culinary traditions. Healthy eating, using cleverly the resources available, is not just good for our health and our planet: food can also be a great communication tool, a meeting point and a symbol of peace.

Becoming Global Citizens

Out of the three winning projects, this is the only one that touched on all 17 SDGs, aiming at raising awareness about human activity’s ecological footprint on the Planet; the students of class 5^C of Istituto di Istruzione Superiore "Pellegrino Artusi" in Chianciano Terme, set up an augmented reality tour in their school to explain and learn more about the 2030 Agenda. Additionally, based on the Double Food Pyramid developed by the Barilla Foundation, students created a sustainable menu that combines healthy food with Planet protection, using raw materials with a low environmental impact, promoting typical local products and choosing cooking techniques that help save energy and avoid food waste.