2012 Food4you goes back to basics

The annual Food4you science festival wants to go back to basics. It is being cut from fifteen days to five days and most of the activities will be on campus, as in the past. The change in direction follows a decision by the municipalities of Wageningen, Ede and Barneveld to stop their financial contribution, as they felt they were not getting enough in return for their money. The organization has also decided that the festival has drifted away in recent years from the original goal of transferring knowledge. ‘With all due respect, it was starting to feel like a street party’, says Elisa Salentijn from Corporate Communications. ‘So this year we will be going back to basics.’ This year, Food4you will be held from 3 to 8 October and will focus on ‘salt’. Events with serious content such as the Wageningen general public day and Food Professional Day will continue as usual. Activities no longer on the programme include Tasty Ede, the sprout cooking championship and the world egg days. The loss of the municipal grants is partly compensated by Gelderland Province’s decision to double its contribution to 200,000 euros. The main organizers – Wageningen UR, Rijn-IJssel vocational college and the Gelderse Vallei hospital – contribute about 80,000 euros, with Wageningen UR giving the most. Incidentally, this is the last year in which health insurer VGZ will be the main sponsor of the event.