FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts:
Lori Trent, PAST Foundation - ltrent@pastfoundation.org
Steve Foreman, Zanesville City Schools – foreman@zanesville.k12.oh
PAST Foundation and Zanesville City Schools Receive Grant to Help Ohio Children and Farmers
July 23, 2021 — The PAST Foundation in Columbus, Ohio is a recipient of a $98,606 grant to help develop, implement and share a system for local food procurement, entrepreneurship in agribusiness and a focused agricultural education program. Partnering on this project is Zanesville City Schools, which will serve as an educational partner and location for the program. This legislation, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown has led efforts to support local agriculture in Ohio and address child hunger through farm to school programs and locally sourced food.
“The PAST Foundation and our partners on the Farm to School and Beyond project are thrilled to be funded by the USDA’s Farm to School Grant with the support of Senator Brown,” said Annalies Corbin, PhD, President and CEO, PAST Foundation. “With this funding, we will build and implement an agribusiness entrepreneurial endeavor for students to learn essential work skills, business management, and STEM skills for agribusiness while earning industry recognized credentials in East Central Ohio in an Appalachian community.”
We are honored to share this grant with other USDA Farm to School recipients: Spice Field Kitchen, Inc. in Cleveland, Clermont Northeastern Local Schools in Batavia, Graham Local School District in St. Paris, Green Umbrella in Cincinnati, MyWhy in Cincinnati, Reynoldsburg City School District in Reynoldsburg and Saint Stephan Community Services, Inc. in Columbus. “We are so fortunate to have a partner like the PAST Foundation who understands as we do the importance of hands-on, real-world, problem-based learning. The more experiences that we can provide for our students like this will help them be more successful in their future endeavors, according to Steve Foreman, MEd, Assistant Superintendent, Zanesville City Schools. “We need to focus on meeting the needs of our students today, for tomorrow.”
About Zanesville City Schools The Zanesville City School District is located in the beautiful rolling hills of Southeastern Ohio. Zanesville is the Muskingum County seat. The district comprises five state-of-the-art campuses, with each building offering an inviting learning atmosphere, including greenspaces. Teachers, staff and administration are passionate about their work with young people and provide many opportunities for students to explore their personal interests, inside and outside the classroom. The district’s goal is to equip students with skills as they prepare for a future full of success. For more information, visit https://www.zanesville.k12.oh.us/.
About PAST Foundation For over 20 years, PAST, a non-profit organization, has been a leader in designing STEM education across the nation, bringing problem-based learning to educators and experiential programs to students. Recently, PAST’s Innovation Lab was named as a promising example to Re-imagine High School as featured in Forbes. PAST has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for its Excellence in Innovation in the STEM 2026 vision report. PAST was the only educational entity in Ohio to be included in this publication.
PAST was also recognized in 2014, by CGI America and former President Bill Clinton for their outstanding work, and again in 2015 for their achievements in improving STEM education in rural America. In 2015, the PAST Innovation Lab was recognized by the White House Summit on High School Design.
For more information on PAST Foundation and how you can link learning to life, visit our website or contact Lori Trent at ltrent@pastfoundation.org.