Nutrition students compete to raise funds for global NGOs
November 27, 2025 – UBC students teamed up with local non-profit Food for Famine Society to tackle global nutrition issues in a unique classroom challenge held in FNH 455: Applied International Nutrition. This course, led by Associate Professor Crystal Karakochuk, provides a critical examination of interventions to prevent, treat, and reduce anemia and malnutrition in the global health context.
Students in this new competition called ‘Compete for Change,’ had the chance to make a real-world impact. Students were assigned to groups and given a country of focus, then began determining what gaps existed in nutrition programming before finally proposing a new nutrition intervention. They also identified and aligned their project with a key non-governmental organization (NGO) in their country.
The top 5 teams presented their interventions to external judges, who were experts in the field of nutrition. Thanks to the generosity of Food for Famine Society, teams in the class competed for the opportunity to ‘win’ their selected NGOs up to $100,000!
The top 3 winning projects focused on interventions to improve the health and nutrition status of women and children in the Philippines (first place), Vietnam (second place) and Madagascar (third place). Students in the first-place team proposed a therapeutic food to reduce malnutrition in children in the Philippines with a new ready-to-use food product that was culturally-appropriate, safe, and nutrient-dense. All students from the top 3 teams were also awarded the Food for Famine Society Prize in Global Nutrition (each student won a $2,500 monetary prize and received transcript recognition).
The next FNH 455 course will be offered in January 2027 – stay tuned for registration!
Student Gabriela Piekarczyk (team Madagascar) said: “Having nearly completed my first year in the UBC Dietetics program, I was about to set off on my first placement in rural B.C. following the competition. Receiving the award not only validated my academic efforts but it also helped financially support me during this transition to living on my own for the first time.”
The competition, which closed in April, attracted other global organizations to match Food for Famine’s initial $100,000 pledge, growing the total donation amount to more than USD$350,000.This gift will be presented to UNICEF Canada to provide multiple micronutrient supplements and life-saving malnutrition interventions to women and children in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Madagascar.
“These students took on the immense challenge of addressing malnutrition in the world’s most vulnerable regions,” said Dr. Karakochuk. “Their remarkable work over the course of the term was inspiring, and showcased their empathy, academic rigor, and commitment of global responsibility. I am incredibly grateful to the generosity of Food for Famine Society for hosting this inaugural ‘Compete for Change challenge’ and for helping me transform the classroom into a true forum for global health advocacy and innovation.”
Dr. Karakochuk added, “My main goal of the course is to inspire students to become global citizens who care about the world and want to make it a better place.”
The idea for the competition transpired as a result of this shared passion between Dr. Karakochuk and Maria Martini, founder of Food for Famine Society. “This initiative reflects our dedication to inspire the next generation of leaders in global health,” said Maria Martini. “By supporting these university students and their visionary projects, we hope to encourage meaningful change in the fight against childhood malnutrition.”
Tagged with: 2025, Food Nutrition and Health, Human Nutrition