CLFP’s board of directors approved some changes to the CLFP scholarship program at its Fall Board of Directors meeting held October 20 & 21 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Monterey. The changes include discontinuing the new Food Processing Industry Leadership Scholarship, in part due to a lack of qualified candidates, discontinuing university food science scholarships and replacing them with donations for student food science clubs, and creating new funding collaborations with state junior colleges.

In addition to government affairs updates from CLFP staff, the board also heard presentations from three guest speakers that were well received:

• Dan Harburg with Soft Robotics, Inc., discussed how robots can be implemented in a wide range of food processing applications. Harburg will lead a seminar at Food Processing Expo 2017 about the use of robotics in the food industry.

• Dr. Martin Sancho-Madriz presented information on the the Food Science Program at Cal Poly Pomona and his interest in placing students in CLFP member facilities

• JJ Jones with the Center for Food Integrity discussed how the food industry can work more effectively to gain consumer trust and support
 
This year’s board meeting also included for the first time a live auction for the scholarship fund, featuring an Epicurean Getaway in Napa Valley.