Fungi For Future takes top spot at hackathon to combat food waste
Fungi For Future was the winning team at the recent ‘Tackling Food Waste for a Sustainable Future" hackathon, hosted by cold chain logistics company Lineage Logistics.
The event took place over two days in Amsterdam, with the final day at the Eye Film Museum, and brought together some of the brightest student and startup talent, along with NGOs and supply chain leaders from across Europe, according to a news release. During two intense days of innovation, collaboration and problem-solving, participants brainstormed and developed new and novel ways to tackle food waste challenges along the supply chain, the release said.
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Participating hackathon teams were asked to track and trace the weight of food waste along various points of the supply chain. After evaluation by an expert judge panel, Fungi For Future emerged atop the field.
"Taking part in the hackathon was a huge learning experience, it was inspiring to all be working towards the same goal of reducing food waste," the Fungi For Future team said in the release. "We look forward to taking the next step with the prize and the incubator program."
The team impressed the judges with its creativity, technical expertise and scalable project potential that focused on the production of alternatives for packaging materials, based on mycelium, the release said.
"We are amazed by the level of talent and dedication displayed by all the participants in thishackathon," Harld Peters, president of Lineage Europe, said in the release. "The ideas and solutions presented underscore the incredible potential of smart and driven problem-solvers to drive positive change in our industry."
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Fungi For Future will receive a monetary prize and personal mentorship through a six-month incubator program, facilitated by The Waste Transformers and Lineage Logistics, to develop and potentially implement their solution, according to the release.
“I am very excited about the transformative potential of these young minds in revolutionizing the way we handle food waste. Together, we strive for a greener, more sustainable future," Lara van Druten, CEO of The Waste Transformers, said in the release.
