Opal® Youth Make A Difference' seeking applications

FirstFruits Marketing, growers of the widely acclaimed Opal® apple, is seeking applications from nonprofit organizations to benefit from 2014-2015 Opal sales as part of the "Youth Make a Difference" Initiative, a campaign designed to provide financial support to causes led by youth ages 6 to 25.

For the third consecutive year, the incredible demand for Opal apple has allowed FirstFruits Marketing to allocate funds for youth-led initiatives that address issues in food security, nutrition, agriculture, food politics or food education. Non-profit organizations and school-based entities can apply for funding, totaling approximately $150,000, at opalapples.com from January 6 until February 28, 2015. In 2014, FirstFruits distributed $75,000 in Youth Make a Difference grants.

FirstFruits will evaluate all 2015 Youth Make a Difference applicants against a set of criteria before posting finalists at opalapples.com. Beginning May 4, 2015 consumers are invited to visit the website and vote for their favorite initiatives. In July, FirstFruits plans to award funding to multiple youth-led charities based on consumer votes and consistency with criteria. Criteria, nomination guidelines and funding details are available online.

For more Information, visit www.firstfruits.com.