Students participate in third annual Morris Challenge Youth Institute

Jake Sias

Grant County Herald

Sixteen high school students and their teachers participated in the third annual Morris Challenge Youth Institute on Tuesday, May 14. Representing Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley, Kalon Prep Academy of Alexandria, and West Central Area, the students engaged in a day-long program hosted by the University of Minnesota Morris. This event is part of the World Food Prize series, one of 32 youth institutes held globally.

Participants researched poverty and hunger issues in selected countries and developed potential solutions. Their findings were compiled into papers explaining their conclusions. During the institute, students presented their ideas to local leaders and experts on global challenges, participated in hands-on activities, and explored methods to make a difference locally and globally. The program also included tours of the West Central Research and Outreach Center, the USDA Soils Lab, and the UMN Morris campus.

Renee Cooper, World Food Prize Foundation Program Manager, highlighted the importance of youth involvement in discussions and decisions shaping sustainable food systems. “It’s essential that youth are involved in these discussions and decisions that will shape our food systems,” Cooper said. “We need sustainability leaders, communicators, economists, scientists, farmers, politicians, engineers, environmental scientists, humanitarians, and more.”

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