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Food Science and Human Nutrition Department

Food Science and Human Nutrition Department

Student Involvement

  • FOOD SCIENCE AND HUMAN NUTRITION CLUB

    Though catered towards Food Science, Nutrition, and Dietetic majors, the Food Science and Human Nutrition Club at the University of Florida welcomes students of all backgrounds and interests to come share their love for food and education. Active members are given the opportunity to interact with faculty and staff within related departments and have access to a variety of volunteer, scholastic, and leadership opportunities throughout the UF community and beyond.

    The Club aims to serve the UF and Gainesville community through education of food science, dietetics, and nutritional sciences.

    Club Pillars

    Service

    • Serving as a resource for professional development of students
    • Serving the UF & Gainesville community through education of food science, dietetics, and nutritional sciences

    Education

    • Educating students and the University of Florida community on special topics within food science, dietetics, and nutrition
    • Educating the Gainesville community through healthy eating habits and food production

    Wellness

    • Enhancing the social well-being of students and community members though service and education 

    Typical Activities and Events:

    • Teaching nutrition to the Gainesville Science Club
    • Cooking for the patients of Winn Dixie Cancer Hope Lodge

      • Developing menus
      • Creating food labels
    • Competing in the Institute of Food Technologists competitions such as:

      • College Bowl
      • Product Development Competition

      Meets: Wednesdays at 5:15PM, location varying. 

      Follow the FSHN Club on Facebook.
      Follow the FSHN Club on Instagram.

      Contact the FSHN Club at foodsciencehumannutrition@gmail.com or by messaging any of the officers through Facebook.

      Advisors:
      Herschel Johnson
      Dr. Beth Gankofskie

      OFFICERS 2022-2023
      President: Kylie Benak
      VP of Food Science: Elizabeth Tang
      VP of Nutritional Science: Kaitlyn Taylor
      VP of Dietetics: Tabatha Acosta
      Treasurer: Alexa Hill
      Secretary: Leah Llobell
      Outreach Assistant: Jonathan C. Stephens
      Culinary Coordinator: Fabiana Briceno
      Wellness Coordinator: Tina Speros

    • UF COLLEGE BOWL

      IFT College Bowl is an annual trivia event that fosters critical thinking, friendly competition, and collaboration that undergraduate and graduate students may participate in. Trivia can range from various topics related to the food science and human nutrition, such as physical sciences, engineering, IFT knowledge and more. Participants gain technical skills and experiences outside of the classroom. Joining College Bowl or any IFT-related event starts in the fall semester and continues throughout the year. 

      Please see the IFT College Bowl website for more information.

      The FSHN Club posts events and news from the College Bowl on social media:

      Contact the UF College Bowl at vpfoodscience.fshn@gmail.com 

      Advisor:

      Dr. Naim Montazeri

      2019-2020 Board:

      VP of Food Science: Elizabeth Tang

      Team Captain: Elizabeth Tang

     Related Organizations

    • CASU: CULINARY ARTS STUDENT UNION

      he purpose of CASU is to cultivate a community of food. We constantly foster and promote diversity via our organization's events and meetings. We showcase different cultures and highlight the link between food and community, all while bringing our members together. We also teach our members essential cooking skills that they will continue to use throughout their lives. Our executive board consists of 20 officers, and we try to have 1-2 events each month, totaling up to 8 events per semester. With smaller cooking classes where members can get more hands-on experience, the attendance can be anywhere from 30-40, due to the limited space of the pilot plant. However, with our GBMs, we have had 120 people attended in the past events.

      Throughout the semester, we hold a variety of events to teach students about food science, cultural experience, diversity, and nutrition. Our General Body Meeting (GBM) is a type of event that we will have at the beginning of each semester to introduce ourselves to the members. With the GBMs, we cook most of the food ourselves with the purpose of introducing and showcasing the cultural and historical aspects of the food to the members. Another type of event that we have is the cooking class. With these cooking classes, we teach students basic cooking techniques by demonstrating certain recipes with a theme in mind (the theme can be certain food from a region or food that are good for your brain/skin). This is a more hands-on event for students as they will cook all of the food by themselves with our help. In addition, we also hold a cooking competition every semester based off the show "Chopped". Students can test their creativity in making food and have fun with friends at this event. Another type of event that we have is conflict cafe, where we teach students about the food from a certain country and invite a speaker to talk about the current conflict that is happening in the region. Students can engage in discussion about the topic with one another and have more insights about the current news. 

      Follow CASU on Facebook.

      Contact CASU at casu.president@gmail.com or messaging through Facebook. 

      Advisor:

      Sharyn Passeretti

      2019-2020 EXECUTIVE BOARD:

      President: Trung Van

      FOOD SQUAD
      Team Leader: Claire Hendrick
      Daniel Reiter
      Robert Van Valkenberg
      David Ervin
      Gabby Gardunio
      Catherine Padilla
      Alexis Diaz

      LOGISTICS
      Team Leader: Linda Dillon
      Deepali Signh
      Arvind Shankar
      Gera Fisher
      Jawad Khan

      OUTREACH
      Team Leader: Nathan Campbell
      Franz Nartatez
      Andrew Le
      Khoi Vu

    • Food Recovery Network (FRN)

      The Food Recovery Network (FRN) was established to implement hunger relief programs for communities and to improve the sustainability of local restaurants, schools and other organizations that conduct food service. Here in Gainesville, FRN aims to provide sustainability and nutrition education to the community and to make a lasting impact on the reduction of food waste and food insecurity.Through food recoveries, donations, volunteering, and education, FRN persistently works to achieve a more sustainable, healthy, and aware Gainesville.

       What we do:

      Food Recoveries/Donations: One Step at a Time

          • Host community lunches/dinners with recovered food
          • Recover food from local farms/businesses/schools
          • Donate recovered food to local food banks and shelters

      Volunteer Work: Helping the Community

          • Gleaning (gathering extra leftover produce after harvest)
          • Food Pickups from donor businesses/farms/schools
          • Food Donation Drives
          • Gardening events at the Field & Fork Farm and Gardens

      Sustainability/Nutrition Education: Reinforcing our Commitment

          • Sustainable blog posts on our website
          • Informative social media posts
          • Volunteering at local elementary schools to teach nutrition topics
          • Tabeling on campus
          • Zoom webinars and general body meetings on food waste and sustainability

      Meets: Every other Tuesday at 6pm

      Follow FRN on Facebook
      Follow FRN on Instagram
      Subscribe to FRN's Website
      Email to Subscribe to FRN's Monthly Newsletter

      Contact FRN at frngainesville@gmail.com or by messaging any of the officers through Facebook.

      Advisor

      Dr. Beth Gankofskie

      Club Officers (2020-2021)

      Co-Presidents: Katie Capen & Izabella Smith

      Vice President: Zoe Lohse

      Treasurer: Anastasia Cashman

      Secretary: Sierra Woodruff

      Food Service & Outreach Coordinator: Yanissa Rodriguez

      Community Education Coordinator: Madison Borman

      Campus Education Coordinator: Na-Young Shin

      Greek Life Coordinator: Abhaya Dilip