Feed Fannin is pleased to have awarded four $1,000 scholarships to very deserving students this year. Three recipients are Fannin County High School seniors, and one is from Copper Basin High School. All awardees have strong academic records, have shown leadership in their school activities, and have served as committed volunteers in their communities. Their further education and future career plans align with Feed Fannin’s mission relating to food supply and providing support for people suffering with food insecurity.
Our work to provide nutritious food from our community and partner gardens, purchased from local suppliers and regional food banks in Atlanta and Chattanooga, drives home to us the enormous importance of helping educate young people in agriculture and fields related to the food chain. We all benefit by educating the next generation to help ensure the quality, quantity, and safety of food production and distribution.
High quality, safe food is possible through dedicated leadership, hard work, and expertise in growing food, managing water use, employing new environmental technologies and best practices in food and animal sciences, and focusing on nutritional needs that help keep families, children and seniors in our communities well-fed and healthy.Two of our recipients, Zoe Putnam and Emilee Thomas, will attend Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) in Tifton, Ga, to study Animal Science with plans to pursue degrees in veterinary medicine. Blake Nicholson will also attend ABAC to pursue a degree in Agricultural Education and follow his passion for teaching.
Sapporiah Ross, valedictorian of her class at Copper Basin High School, will enroll in the Nursing School at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to pursue a degree in Nutrition with a Biomedical Nutrition Science concentration.
The criteria for the Feed Fannin scholarships, consistent with our goal of providing nutritious food to people in need, are: 1) Be accepted at a college, university, or technical school/college, 2) Have a minimum 3.0 grade point average during senior year, 3) Plan to pursue degrees in agriculture, horticulture, environmental or food sciences or related fields (preference will be given to these studies, however, applicants who plan to pursue degrees in education may also be considered, and 4) Demonstrate active involvement in FFA, 4-H, Garden Club or in other activities, clubs and organizations at school or in the community related to the above fields of study.
Additional support to young people in our communities is provided through our 2023 grants for gardens in three elementary schools, the middle and high schools in Fannin County and to students from the Copper Basin area to attend 4-H Summer Camp in June.
Thank you to our Feed Fannin financial supporters who make these awards possible, and to this year’s Scholarship and School Outreach Committee members, Kelly Maniscalco, Diane Tortis, Suzanne Blakeman and co-chairs Carol and Carlos Martel. We are grateful for their participation and careful review of the students’ applications, and selection of four outstanding young people from our area schools to further their educations consistent with Feed Fannin’s efforts to better lives by providing nutritious food to people in need.