NSF Convergence Accelerator: Sustainable Systems Enabling Food Security in Extreme Environments and Food Deserts employing a Convergence of Food, Energy, Water and Systems

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The increasing demand for water, food, and energy resources in the face of a changing climate and continued population growth make these vital resources increasingly scarce. Food deserts are areas with limited access to nutritious and affordable food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in 2010 that 23.5 million people in the U.S. live in food deserts. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #2 Zero Hunger is to “end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”. The workshop will bring together diverse entities and groups to identify strategies and deliverables that are ready for acceleration to maintain the food supply chain in response to rapidly changing environmental stressors such as limited water and energy. This workshop aims to advance a technical framework for the acceleration of use-inspired convergence research in this area of national importance by bringing together practitioners from public and private institutions including Minority Serving Institutions of higher education, industrial and academic research organizations, and other stakeholders. An ecosystem approach to re-envision our science and technology research approach to sustainable food supply is the main focus of the workshop and seeks to identify a path to sustainable systems that enable food security in extreme environments and food deserts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.