College of Ag Sciences, FAO mark one-year anniversary of Youth Food Lab

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences welcomed a delegation from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO, to University Park last week to mark the first anniversary of the World Food Forum Youth Food Lab North America at Penn State partnership and to explore opportunities to deepen collaboration on global agrifood systems, innovation and education.

The visit highlighted a growing partnership between the college and FAO, built on a strong foundation of engagement in food security research, teaching and outreach, according to Deanna Behring, assistant dean and director of Ag Sciences Global.

“As a land-grant university, our college has had a long-standing mission — dating back to 1961 and the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act that called upon universities to build partnerships in the name of food security and the development of agriculture as an underpinning to healthy and equitable communities and economies globally,” she said. “This new step in our partnership with FAO builds on our previous engagement by bringing new energy and innovation to areas critical to both our missions.”

During FAO’s recent visit, Penn State leadership, faculty and students engaged with Beth Bechdol, FAO deputy director-general; Lauren Phillips, director of partnerships and UN collaboration; and Jocelyn Brown Hall, director of the Liaison Office for North America, along with other members of the delegation, during a day focused on global agrifood systems, innovation and workforce development.

The Youth Food Lab North America at Penn State is part of FAO’s World Food Forum (WFF) Youth Food Lab initiative. This flagship program engages students and young professionals in addressing global food security and the resilience of agrifood systems. The network spans Europe, Asia, South America and North America, with Penn State serving as the inaugural U.S. host site.

The college was selected to lead the North American lab, reflecting its long-standing commitment to global engagement in agrifood system resilience.

Maria Spencer, John and Patty Warehime Entrepreneur in Residence in the college, who leads the lab at Penn State, discussed the program’s role in connecting students with international networks and delivering real-world impact, and emphasized the significance of hosting the delegation and advancing the partnership.

“It was an honor to welcome our FAO colleagues to campus and to deepen this partnership,” Spencer said. “The Youth Food Lab is about giving students real pathways to engage with global food system challenges. Working with FAO helps align student innovation with international priorities, and it was energizing to see that collaboration take shape here at Penn State.”

Students from the Youth Food Lab engaged with the delegation, sharing their experiences and how they are applying classroom learning to real-world challenges through global collaboration.

The college also hosted a series of sessions showcasing the breadth of its teaching, research and industry partnerships. David Hughes, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Global Food Security, discussed PlantVillage, an artificial intelligence-driven platform developed at Penn State that advances global food security by delivering real-time, science-based guidance to farmers.

A session on the Global Teach Ag Network, or GTAN, led by co-founders Melanie Miller Foster, associate teaching professor of international agriculture, and Daniel Foster, associate professor of agricultural and extension education, highlighted the college’s leadership in global agricultural education through student engagement, academic exchange and international teaching initiatives. GTAN has partnered with the WFF to bring together a global network of 2,500 educators to collaborate to strengthen agrifood education.

Industry collaboration was another key focus of the visit, with Wendy Clemens, director of entrepreneurship and innovation and the Alan R. Warehime Faculty Chair of Agribusiness, leading a discussion on innovation, entrepreneurship and technology transfer. These themes resonated with FAO’s updated private sector strategy 2026-30, which emphasizes science, innovation and investment.

Faculty research presentations detailed Penn State’s global reach, with Francesco Di Gioia, associate professor of vegetable crop science, and Gretta Tritch Roman, senior director of research development and initiatives, sharing examples of work in smart farming, international partnerships and other research areas with global relevance, along with opportunities for collaboration.

Additionally, the delegation toured the Department of Food Science and the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering facilities, showcasing Penn State’s strengths in applied research, industry partnership and hands-on student learning.

Oisín Gill, head of the WFF Youth Education Programme, and Edward Bogart, coordinator of the WFF Global Youth Forum, both with the FAO Office of Youth and Women, delivered a seminar on transforming agrifood systems education and engaged directly with students in agricultural and extension education as well as international development courses.

Also joining the discussions were Troy Ott, Peter and Ann Tombros Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences; Jeff Hyde, associate dean and director of Penn State Extension; and Andrew Read, senior vice president for research.

Bechdol reflected on the visit and the broader global context shaping FAO’s work, describing an organization operating under mounting pressure — confronting rising food insecurity driven by conflict, weather extremes and economic instability, while also navigating a more constrained and complex multilateral and financing environment — and underscoring the importance of partnerships in responding to these challenges.

“We can’t go it alone anymore,” she said. “At a time when agrifood systems are under unprecedented pressure, partnerships like this are essential. That is why collaboration with Penn State matters. Land-grant universities bring deep expertise in research, innovation and extension, and we need to better connect that knowledge with global priorities and country-level impact. ... What stood out for me was how research, teaching and innovation are being applied and how faculty, students and global partners engage in ways that can translate into real-world impact. The real opportunity now is to turn that into meaningful results together.”