UMassGives 2025

Food Science Student Travel Fund. The funds raised from this drive will support a fund to provide travel assistance to UMass Food Science students to attend and present their research at scientific conferences held throughout the country. UMass Food Science is ranked #1 in the US and among the top in the world for food science research, and our excellent undergraduate student researchers are a part of this, as over 70% of our undergraduate majors typically are involved in this world-leading research in addition to all of our stellar graduate students. However, often funding can be limited for allowing students to travel to scientific conferences to present their research.  

Attendance at these conferences can have dramatic impact on young scientists’ careers, as they not only get to present the results of their hard work to the food science research community, but also get numerous leadership and networking opportunities that can be crucial to the next phase of their careers after graduation. Although UMass student researchers do attend event to present their research, with many winning research competitions, the amount of funding to allow all students of a lab to attend these conferences is limited, as grant and other support for travel is often limited. Supporting more student researchers to attend these conferences and present their research will have an undoubted major impact on their careers and support the next generation of food scientists in the US, in a world where food science is going to be more crucial than ever in the future. 

Some examples of conferences where our student researchers have presented (and many won research competitions) include:  

1. Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)
2. International Academy of Food Science and Technology (IAFoST)
3. International Association of Food Protection (IAFP)
4. American chemical society (ACS)- The Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (AGFD)
5. American Oil Chemists' Society
6. American Society of Nutrition
7. Society of Toxicology
8. American Society for Microbiology
9. American Society of Baking
10. American Society for Virology 
    
    

Our goals are to maximize the number of donors and raise $4,000.  Two generous donors have committed challenge gifts to UMass Food Science.  

1️⃣ When 10 first-time donors contribute to the Department of Food Science, a $2,000 challenge gift will be unlocked.
2️⃣ When the department receives 30 total gifts of any size, it will unlock a $4,000 challenge gift.

Make an even bigger impact! Give during our Power Hour, #1 on April 29 between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. to help us win up to $2,000 in bonus money! 

Please make a gift to support the Food Science Student Travel Fund to support the next generation of scientists and excellence in research, education, and scholarship.

Thanks to the Food Science Club for being department ambassadors for UMassGives 2025!