President’s Prize Winners Highlight Projects to Improve Food Systems

January 26, 2021

Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson has awarded the prestigious President's Prize to two graduating seniors—both of whom are working to improve the Columbus food system in different ways. Christina Allen and Dominique Hadad were chosen for the prize, which is the highest recognition the university bestows on outstanding students focused on social change. Each winner receives a $50,000 living stipend and up to $50,000 in capital to jumpstart their social change enterprises in the year following graduation.

That both prizes will advance work related to food is a boon for the university that has made transformation of the food system an institutional priority by way of InFACT's inclusion among the Discovery Themes initiatives. Says InFACT Executive Director Brian Snyder, “Food is fundamental to our lives as human beings, and getting the food system right is foundational to our success as a free society. We have much work to do in that regard, and it is gratifying to see these two outstanding students leading us in that direction.”

Christina Allen's project will create Food Leads, a program that integrates healthy nutrition into treatment plans for patients with Type 2 Diabetes. The human nutrition/international development double-major's inspiration? Allen was inspired by her father, who was recently diagnosed with the disease, as well as her experience as co-president of the InFACT-sponsored student organization Best Food Forward, which bulk buys healthy produce to pass along to students and other members of the Ohio State community at discounted rates.

“I saw this as an opportunity to combine my experience in food access with my nutrition lens to tackle a medical condition like Type 2 Diabetes,” says Allen. Food Leads will serve as a resource for health providers and for Black and other communities of color in Columbus—delivering nutritious food to residents right in their homes and ensuring that food is integrated in organized discussions relating to people's health.

“I really can't say enough about how Best Food Forward, under the leadership of Christina and many other very bright and dedicated students, has directed attention to the importance of fresh and healthy food in supporting healthy communities. Christina is now taking it one step further to address racial justice, an effort that could not be more urgent.” says Snyder.

Dominique Hadad's project, Green Scope Consulting, will focus on the other end of the food system: waste. It's a subject that has interested the Columbus native since she started paying attention to the restaurant experience in high school. “When I'd go out to eat, I'd always have opinions about how things could be less wasteful,” says Hadad. “I also grew a sense of affinity for waste management because of an awesome high school teacher who was really passionate about it. I came into Ohio State thinking, ‘How could I combine these things?'”

Green Scope Consulting will help small food-related businesses in the Columbus community to increase sustainability without compromising profitability. By offering her own industrial and systems engineering training, and leveraging other consultants with expertise in areas like composting, predictive data analytics and rescue waste, Green Scope Consulting aims to increase profit for local businesses while helping the City of Columbus meet ambitious goals for reducing food waste.

Project faculty sponsor Brian Roe, Van Buren Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, says Hadad's vision for Green Scope Consulting is “exactly the type of innovative circular business enterprise that is needed in a post-pandemic world. Her work will build profits, sustainability and resilience for local firms and organizations during a time where all three are desperately needed.”

As Allen and Hadad prepare to launch Food Leads and Green Scope Consulting respectively—each hoping to build sustainable programs that will make an impact beyond the year of President's Prize funding—they welcome input that will help lay the foundation for success. If you have ideas that might benefit either project, you are encouraged to email Christina Allen (Food Leads) at allen.2127@buckeyemail.osu.edu and Dominique Hadad (Green Scope Consulting) at hadad.7@buckeyemail.osu.edu.

InFACT would like to acknowledge the work of both of these incredible students, and we thank President Johnson and the President's Prize selection committee for recognizing the importance of food systems to the future health and prosperity of communities in the Columbus area and elsewhere. This is exactly the kind of student-led innovation we so desperately need and had hoped to see.