Students tackle food waste in Future City Competition

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Is there a future where food doesn’t go to waste? Where, from farm to table, the health of people and the planet are paramount? That is the future students are tasked with creating at the 2026 Future City Competition, using engineering, technology and good old-fashioned imagination.

Sponsored by Sandia National Laboratories, the annual event, scheduled for January 17, is part of a national program designed to promote technological literacy and engineering by tasking middle school students with eliminating a real-world problem in a future city.

This year the topic “Farm to Table” is inspired by USDA and EPA data showing up to 40% of food produced in the U.S. is wasted and accounts for 28% of the world’s agricultural land use and 25% of agricultural water use. The Future Cities challenge tasks students to consider all the steps it takes to get food to their plate and create a future city that addresses how food is grown, packaged, and disposed of.

“I have volunteered for several years because I thought this competition was a neat way to inspire young minds to start thinking about how we can change our future or solve our current issues through engineering and science,” said New Mexico Future City Co-Regional Coordinator and Sandia employee Justin Teo.

Teo is among nearly two dozen Sandia employees who volunteer for the program each year and lead workshops and technical talks, or serve as mentors, judges or coordinators.

“I first got involved with the Future City Competition seven years ago when my daughter competed,” Sandia optical engineer Chi Yang said. “She had a blast and learned so much. Since then, I’ve been volunteering in different roles. It’s been such a joy to see the kids’ excitement and laughter. As a scientist, I love helping the next generation explore the world of science.”

This year, 28 teams from across New Mexico will be participating. The winning team will compete in the national competition in February in Washington, D.C. 

“It’s been exciting to see the initiatives grow within our state,” outgoing regional coordinator, Junko Mondragon said. “When you witness how middle school students get energized and excited to showcase their work, that is priceless.”

Sandia has hosted this competition since 2013 to inspire middle schoolers to explore STEM fields. During that time, more than 1,300 students have taken part in the competition. Prior challenges have included, floating cities, age-friendly cities designed to better support older adults, natural disaster resistant cities, moon cities and cities that better manage stormwater pollution.

The Sandia team hopes to continue to grow local participation and coordinate with other teams around the country.

“Volunteering as a national competition special award judge was an incredible experience,” said Sandia electrical engineer and incoming Future City NM Co-Regional Coordinator Lili Xiao. “I got to see the amazing work and ideas from students across the U.S. and the world. It’s incredibly rewarding to hold a successful event and inspire students to learn.”

Media are invited to attend the 2026 event.