NORWAY, Iowa—Simply Organic® established a scholarship award in perpetuity for the Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Simply Organic and Frontier Natural Products Co-op™ have made a combined contribution of $130,000 to the UCSC Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.
Each year, one apprentice will receive tuition assistance to learn better organic farming techniques, develop and evaluate new ideas to tackle issues of inequality in the food system, and integrate social and natural science research, academic and experiential education, and public service to transform the food system. The Frontier Foundation™ donated $60,000, while the remaining $70,000 came from the Simply Organic One Percent Fund (SO1%), which is generated by one percent of sales on all Simply Organic products. SO1% supports organizations and events that further education, training and growth in the organic industry.
“This is the premiere sustainable and organic training program in the United States. During my visit in August, I was impressed with the quality of the program – and even more so with the apprentices enrolled in the program,” says Kathy Larson, vice president of sustainability at Frontier. “Establishing this scholarship empowers a new generation of sustainable agricultural leaders, who otherwise might not have the opportunity to participate in advanced training and contribute to the organic community.”
More than 1,300 apprentices have been trained in the organic fields, orchards and greenhouses at UC Santa Cruz, learning not only how to raise food and flowers, but how to make the food system itself more sustainable by addressing issues of social justice. They are organic farmers, market gardeners, urban agriculturalists, school garden teachers and others – all working to promote local, healthy food in communities around the country. Interest in the program is at an all-time high, with record 187 applications received this fall for the 39 positions in the 2010 Apprenticeship.