Zane Trace FFA members participate in competition to to eliminate hunger and food insecurity

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Three members of the Zane Trace FFA chapter recently participated in the Ohio Youth Institute of the World Food Prize. The event brought together students from around Ohio to share the research they had conducted over methods to eliminate hunger and food insecurity for a particular country of their choosing.

Freshmen members Macy Long, Grace Jenkins and Madeline Marlo each spent months learning the demographics, climate, government and challenges facing food production, health and sanitation of their chosen regions. They then selected a specific issue that threatened the food safety and security of their country and proposed a feasible solution to the issue in their research paper.

On April 20, 65 students from the eight participating high schools met for a virtual Ohio Youth World Food Prize Institute through an online Zoom meeting. Students shared their research with other participants, along with professionals from the fields of agriculture, public policy and education.

Participants also heard from the 2019 World Food Prize recipient, Akinwumi Adesina, who helped farmers obtain funding for their operations while serving as the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture, as well as Kolesen McCoy, the current National FFA president and former World Food Prize Global Youth Institute participant.