Unified Membership:
On July 12, 2013 the IFT Board of Directors passed a motion to unify IFT membership. MN IFT is working with IFT to ensure that the IFT brand is experienced at all levels and across all touch points of our organization. Whether your experience is at the global level or the local level, our goal is to deliver a globally consistent and locally relevant experience for our collective members.
What does this mean for you?
- MN IFT will no longer be able offer “regional membership” on its website
- You will see the membership dues for MN IFT Section as part of your National IFT membership.
- You will receive access to all of your IFT and section member benefits.
Click on the appropriate link for more information and to join!
What is the value of an IFT membership?
As an IFT member, you have valuable resources at your fingertips, including webcasts, salary information, workshops and course discounts. Learn about all the benefits and value of membership right here!
What is the value of an MNIFT membership?
Beyond what IFT can provide, as a member of MNIFT, you will meet colleagues in the local area, expand your professional network, be exposed to new techniques and trends in the food industry, gather and share information and enhance your leadership skills. You will have access to our monthly newsletter filled with interesting facts about the global and local food industry, member profiles and more. Priceless!
Meetings
Membership in the Minnesota Section provides a means of maintaining regular contact with other professional working in the food industry, the opportunity to keep up to date with current food issues and market trends and to promote interaction between academia, industry and regulatory agencies. Regularly schedules meetings are held on a monthly basis. Speakers addressing current topics of technical scientific and professional interest are an important part of the section activities.
Newsletter/Website
A newsletter is published monthly from September through May as a service to members and to inform them of activities and meetings. It features schedules of upcoming events, employment opportunities, meetings announcements, messages from offices, information about scholarships and awards, educations opportunities and other items of interest to the membership
The Minnesota Section maintains an Internet website a www.mnift.org for the benefit of members. It provides updates information on activities, officers and employment opportunities as well as information on joining IFT.
Student Support and Involvement
The Minnesota Section contributes a signficanti portion of its income to student scholarships. Each year the section awards both undergraduate and graduate scholarships to outstanding student studying Food Science and Technology within the geographical boundaries of the section. In addition, the section subsidizes student meals at each section meeting. One meeting each year is designed as Student Recognition Night where students are sponsored by and have dinner with members from local industries and universities. Travel by the Student College Bowl Team members or other competition to the IFT Annual Meeting s is also sponsored in part by the local section. The Student Food Science and Nutrition Club is exceptionally active, both locally and throughout the USA. They sponsored fund raiser activities, bring in industry representative for monthly meetings, assist with activities of the Minnesota Section and meet several times a year for social activities.
Section Awards
In 1981 the section established the international recognized Harold Macy Food Science and Technology Award. The purpose of the Macy Award is to recognize the efforts of an outstanding individual for accomplishments in the transfer of technology between government, industry and academia. The Macy Award concise of a plaque and honorarium. It is presented at a dinner meeting when the recipient of the Awards present s a discussion of the efforts that resulted in the Award.
In 1987 the Chair's Award was established. The purpose of this Award is to honor a member who has served the section and the profession in a dedicated manner. A plaque for the Chair's Award is presented at a dinner meeting early in the program
in 2001, the section added another award called the Elwood F. Caldwell Scholarship Award for Volunteer Service. The purpose of the Award is to recognize and reward a student volunteer and thereby encourage the volunteer service by students to fellow food technologists to the communities which they live. Recipients of the Caldwell Award received a plaque and an honorarium. Student scholarships and awards are also offered annually.