(ABC 6 News) — Hormel Foods on Monday honored ten young ambassadors for food equity as the 2024 Hormel “10 Under 20” Food Heroes. 

The honorees attended and toured Hormel World Headquarters in Austin, and held a panel discussion with Hormel Group Vice President Jeff Baker, who said “They’ve decided to put their efforts and put their work into something. And everybody out here, I challenge you. They’re proving right here that it doesn’t matter what age you are, you can make a difference.” 

The honorees are a dynamic collective of young changemakers from around the nation and were selected, according to a press release from Hormel, as “individuals who are passionate about addressing food insecurity, whether they have pioneered projects to feed communities in need, or volunteered with other organizations.”

Honored this year were: 

• Aakash Suresh (Miami, Florida)
• Bella Eberhart (Wellington, Florida)
• Colin Chu (Palo Alto, California)
• Elaina Johnson (Broomfield, Colorado)
• Emma Falkenmeyer (Sherrill, New York)
• Lauren Schroeder (Dixon, Iowa)
• Natalie Deitz (Abingdon, Maryland)
• Samantha Sandhaus (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Skai Nzeuton & Will Nzeuton (New York City, New York)
• Steven Hoffen (New York City, New York)

Also honored as Food Hero Ambassadors were Shreyaa Venkat & Esha Venkat of Virginia.