Morris Challenge Youth Institute

The 2024 Morris Challenge Youth Institute is the result of a partnership between the University of Minnesota Morris and the World Food Prize Foundation offering youth institute to high school students in west central Minnesota. The program connects high school students from West Central Minnesota with research and industry leaders working in agricultural, food and natural resource-related fields. Students learn how these leaders are making a positive impact - in their communities and beyond – and receive feedback on their research paper presentations. 

The World Food Prize Foundation was started by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug, a farm kid from Cresco, Iowa who earned Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees from the University of Minnesota. Borlaug believed “food is the moral right of all who are born into this world” and worked to eliminate wheat rust and other ag-related challenges that threatened the world’s food supply. He is credited with saving over a million lives and encouraging youth to get involved and help solve complex issues through programs like the Morris Challenge Youth Institute.