FirstFruits Marketing of Washington, marketers of the widely acclaimed Opal® apple, has announced the recipients of grants from the Opal apple Youth Make a Difference Initiative, a campaign designed to provide financial support from the 2014-2015 Opal sales to youth-led food and agriculture-related non-profits.
Over 75 applications were received between January and March and 24 finalists were selected in April for a chance to receive a grant from the $150,000 Opal grant funds. From April 15 to May 15, the public was asked to vote for the non-profit they most wanted to see receive a grant. Over 120,000 votes were tallied and 15 non-profit projects will be receiving grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. Those projects include:
• SOS - Seasons of Sustenance; Loveland, OH
• Northwest Initiative; Lansing, MI
• Chilton County Joint Agriscience Farm; Maplesville, AL
• Post Crashers 2.0; Northfield, NJ
• Farm2Mountain Produce Club; Big Bear Lake, CA
• Youth Planting Change; Wexford, PA
• Go Healthy St. Louis; Saint Louis, MO
• Cooking with Kids; Washington, DC
• A Dream for the Future (Un Sueño Para el Futuro); Philadelphia, PA
• One AHEC of a Garden!; Waterbury, CT
• Healthy Food, Healthy Growing, Salida School Gardens Program; Salida, CA
• Roots for the Home Team; St. Paul, MN
• Farming Forward: Vertical Farming; Woonsocket, RI
• Start a Snowball; Raleigh, NC
• TEAM- Together Everyone Achieves More HEALTH; Logan, UT
“We’ve been really excited to see our funding for Youth Make a Difference grow year after year which has enabled us to give to and touch more non-profits," said Naomi Lule, CFO of FirstFruits of Washington and Youth Make a Difference Committee Chairwoman. "However, this initiative isn’t just about giving away money but also about raising awareness for food security and inspiring others to get involved and make a difference in their own communities."
Opal apple is known as the apple with a purpose: a portion of sales from each case of Opal apples sold is put toward the Youth Make a Difference Initiative. This season, $150,000 was distributed through the initiative, doubling last season’s amount. Funds will be distributed in July to the winning non-profits. For more information about the grantees, please visit opalapples.com.
Contact:
Paj Ann Herr
Golden Sun Marketing
(763) 951-2005