The Southeast Produce Council has awarded 43 SEPC Member Scholarships totaling $64,500.
Scholarships are awarded to applicants who meet the application criteria of having a parent or grandparent who is a corporate member in good standing with the SEPC and has personally attended at least one SEPC event within the last 12 months, according to a news release. Applicants, who must be enrolled as a full-time student with a minimum of 12 semester hours, had to submit necessary paperwork, including an essay, to be reviewed by members of the SEPC scholarship committee.
Staying in step with this year’s overarching SEPC them, “Inspiring Innovation Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow,” the essay prompt asked students to discuss where they have experienced food waste in their lives, what are innovative solutions to reduce or prevent food waste, and if they thought even the smallest of ideas can be scaled for a global solution.
SEPC Member Scholarship recipients receive one $1,500 scholarship annually. Past recipients are eligible; however, they must have maintained a 3.0 GPA, and first preference is given to new applicants, according to the release.
The recipients of the 2023 SEPC Member Scholarship are:
| Recipient name | Member name | Member company |
|---|---|---|
| Kade Adams | Kerry Adams | Rouses Markets |
| Kayelyn Austin | Garry Bergstrom | Southeast Produce Council |
| Gary E. Baker | Gary Baker | Merchants Distributors LLC |
| Colton Barton | Jill Barton | Jim Rash Inc. |
| Austin Belknap | Blake Belknap | Rainier Fruit Co. |
| Kennedy Belknap | Blake Belknap | Rainier Fruit Co. |
| Kordelia Bergstrom | Garry Bergstrom | Southeast Produce Council |
| Bryan Biederman | Bryan Biederman | Scotlynn Sweet Pac Growers |
| Ani Brown | Kohl Brown | Harvest Fresh Partners |
| Sebastian Cimino | Jaime Cimino | Always Fresh Farms |
| Lillian Davis | Dan Davis | Starr Ranch Growers |
| Marco Di Laudo | Dino Di Laudo | Topline Farms |
| Tahlia Dilaudo | Dino Di Laudo | Topline Farms |
| Conner Edmondson | Tim Edmondson | Edmondson Farms |
| Joshua Eubanks | Allen Eubanks | Eubanks Produce Inc. |
| Douglas Ford | Kent Ford | Taylor Farms |
| Maxwell Fuehrer | Milton Fuehrer | Michigan Fresh Marketing |
| Michael Fuehrer | Milton Fuehrer | Michigan Fresh Marketing |
| Ellen Hendrix | Kevin Hendrix | Hendrix Produce |
| Morgan Jenny | Brian Jenny | B&W Quality Growers |
| Lindsey Kastensmidt | Matthew Kastensmidt | Tom Lange Inc. |
| Isabella Lott | Sloan Lott | Bland Farms |
| Gabrielle Matejowsky | Sarah Matejowsky | Sunkist Growers Inc. |
| Charlotte Minerva | Michael Minerva | Village Farms |
| Kaylee Nelsen | Sean Nelsen | Fowler Packing |
| Alexis Olsen | Melissa Olsen | US Foods |
| Claire Paivarinta | Harold Paivarinta | Red Sun Farms |
| Olin Paivarinta | Harold Paivarinta | Red Sun Farms |
| Matheson Parker | Brandon Parker | Shuman Farms |
| Haley Pilcher | Alison Pilcher | Coastline Family Farms |
| Lowri Richards | Gini Richards | Monterey Mushrooms |
| Peyton Rudman | Shawn Rudman | Gulfstream Produce |
| Steven Shaw | Tracy Shaw | Healthy Family Project |
| Hudson Sherrod | David Sherrod | Southeast Produce Council |
| Mason Shuman | Mark Shuman | Shuman Farms |
| Brittany St. George | Kimberly St. George | Dole Food Co. |
| Riley St. George | Kimberly St. George | Dole Food Co. |
| Sophia Tanner | Matthew Tanner | Pacific Trellis Fruit |
| Kasey Tipton | Mike Tipton | Schnucks |
| Charles White | Johnny White | Shuman Farms |
| Avery White | Johnny White | Shuman Farms |
| Madison Wing | Rick Estess | RPE |
| Kylie Wynne | Jadey Wynne | US Foods |
