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

面对不断变化的气候和持续的人口增长，对水、食物和能源的需求不断增加，使这些重要资源越来越稀缺。“食物沙漠”指的是获得营养丰富且价格合理的食物的渠道有限的地区。美国农业部2010年的报告称，美国有2350万人生活在食物沙漠中。联合国可持续发展目标（SDG） #2零饥饿是“消除饥饿，实现粮食安全，改善营养和促进可持续农业”。研讨会将汇集不同的实体和团体，以确定加速维持食品供应链的战略和可交付成果，以应对快速变化的环境压力因素，如有限的水和能源。本次研讨会旨在通过汇集来自公立和私立机构（包括高等教育的少数民族服务机构）、工业和学术研究组织以及其他利益攸关方的从业人员，推进一个技术框架，以加速在这一具有国家重要性的领域开展以使用为导向的融合研究。以生态系统方法重新设想我们的科学和技术研究方法以实现可持续粮食供应是研讨会的主要焦点，并寻求确定一条可持续系统的道路，使极端环境和粮食沙漠中的粮食安全成为可能。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.