Minnesota FFA Foundation                                          Contact:

P.O. Box 118                                                                Val Aarsvold

Rosemount, MN 55068                                                  Executive Director

Phone: 507-534-0188                                        

Email: val.aarsvold@mnffafoundation.org

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December 1, 2011                                                         FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 Minnesota FFA Member Attends 2011 World Food Prize Event

This fall, two deserving fu­ture agriculture teachers learned firsthand about the global community’s best efforts to alleviate hun­ger and promote the human right to a stable, nutri­tious supply of food.

Selected for the experience were Kirby Schmidt, 20, a student at the University of Minnesota and Marshall FFA member and Allison Hoover, 20, of Penn State. As the first re­cipients of the National FFA Organization’s World Food Prize Grants, they traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, October 12-15 to attend the World Food Prize.

While at the World Food Prize, the students attended the Norman E. Borlaug International Sym­posium, the World Food Prize Laureate Award Cer­emony, the Global Youth Institute and special meet­ings with agricultural leaders.

After the event, they are to deliver three presen­tations about the World Food Prize to agricultural education students at their college or university, to their state’s agricultural education teachers and to a local FFA chapter. They will also prepare a sum­mary of the experience and its impact to be shared with agricultural education stakeholders.

“I intend to take my experiences back to the classroom, in order to integrate sustainability and food production issues into my coursework and FFA program,” said Schmidt, of Marshall, Minnesota and former president of the Minnesota FFA Asso­ciation. “I hope to inspire a new generation of youth that will actively engage in creating solutions for a sustainable and nutritious food supply. My 7-12 curriculum will include opportunities to learn more about international agricultural issues, Dr. Norman Borlaug, and how students can be engaged in global opportunities.”

“The next generation of leaders will need to be informed about agriculture. We will best prepare them by educating and intriguing them to be en­gaged with global agricultural issues and solutions,” said Hoover, a former Pennsylvania FFA state officer from Port Matilda, Pennsylvania. “This challenge is one that I plan to pursue as a career.”

The World Food Prize is the foremost internation­al award recognizing the achievements of individu­als who have advanced human development by im­proving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. The Prize recognizes contributions in any field involved in the world food supply — food and agriculture science and technology, manufac­turing, marketing, nutrition, economics, poverty alleviation, political leadership and the social sci­ences. The FFA World Food Prize Grant program is focused on ensuring that tomorrow’s agriculture teachers have a broad awareness of the global issues affecting agriculture, hunger, food distribution and sustainability. The impact these educators will have on students can be profound.

The Minnesota FFA Foundation partners with individuals and businesses to provide resources that promote and enhance premier leadership, personal growth and career success for Minnesota youth in Agricultural Education. For more information about the Minnesota FFA Foundation, contact executive director Val Aarsvold at 507-534-0188 or visit www.mnffafoundation.org.

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For more information log onto www.mnffafoundation.org.