The Pennsylvania Youth Institute (PYI), a part of the World Food Prize Foundation Programming, was first offered in 2017. PYI engages high school students in global thinking to address food insecurity. Aligned with the mission of the PA School for Excellence in the Agricultural Sciences (PSEAS) program, the institute showcases student research related to factors impacting, and more importantly, solutions for food insecurity.
2019 Borlaug Scholars
COVID UPDATE: We are eagerly planning for this program to take place once again on the University Park campus of Penn State. However, should COVID-19 requirements prohibit an in-person experience, our team is also prepared to host the program fully online.
Important Information for Parents from the Office of Ethics and Compliance.
Each year, the World Food Prize Youth Institutes such as the Pennsylvania Youth Institute (PYI) convene high school students, teachers, and experts to explore and solve local, national and global hunger and food security issues.
To apply to the Institute, students research and write a paper on a global challenge related to hunger and food insecurity. We challenge our participants to think critically think about food insecurity:
Not everyone has access to nutritious food. Finding solutions are so important. We are asking you to find a country and a factor that impacts people in that country from getting that nutritious food. How can we solve it? Climate volatility? Sustainable agriculture? How does culture implement a solution? Think simple. How can a local citizen get involved in their food security?
Registration for the event is free. Currently, 24 U.S. states, The Netherlands and Honduras host Youth Institutes across the world host youth institutes, at which students can be selected to be a delegate to the Global Youth Institute.
More details for the challenge and paper, download our flyer. (coming soon)
REGISTRATION FOR PYI 2025, two dates to choose from June 21 or July 12, click below to register, upload your paper or send your final paper to pseas@psu.edu:
(link coming soon)
Program Date: July 14, 2023: Schedule to be announced.
Students choose a country that is not their own, learn about the country, people, and a factor related to food insecurity in that country and brainstorm viable solutions for food security.
PDF document, 5.3 MB
