STHIRA is back in it's Third Edition!
200+ Ideas for a Sustainable Food Future
300+ Participants
18+ Disciplines, 45+ universities
STHIRA, India’s pioneering Sustainable Food Innovation Challenge, is designed to discover and incubate ideas which address the most pressing challenges affecting the future of food. By engaging young people with food in its totality, we seek to imagine a future of food that is nutritious, climate-resilient, equitable and culturally rooted.
Through STHIRA, we hope to inspire future food professionals, designers, entrepreneurs and social change makers and thus, have a positive influence within the larger food system and sustainability landscape.
STHIRA 2026 is accompanied by foodwize’s new Virtual Incubator for Sustainable food. The most creative and well-thought-out innovations will be selected for our incubation program, which is a structured capacity building journey, enabling them to evolve into impactful, real-world solutions.
45+ Universities
STHIRA 2026 Themes and Guidelines
Improve Access to Nutrition
Innovate for better nutrition, focusing on health outcomes through food consumption which is accessible, affordable and culturally relevant
Revive indigenous, traditional ingredients and practices
Use creative practice, using design, storytelling, documentation and experimentation to reintroduce these ingredients into everyday diets in meaningful ways
Strengthen Local Supply Chains and Food Economies
Strengthen local supply food chains to boost farmer incomes, reduce food waste and make more accessible, affordable and sustainable
Shape Urban Food Futures
Envision urban and peri-urban spaces as sites of food production and innovation, shaped as urban economies