organic planet


Simply Organic Scholarship Award Winner is First of Many


Evelyn Rosas is one of three dozen aspiring organic farmers planting, cultivating and harvesting organic botanicals on a 25-acre farm at the University of California Santa Cruz. What distinguishes Rosas is how she got there. She’s able to participate in this apprenticeship thanks to the Simply Organic Scholarship Award for the Apprenticeship in Ecological Hor- ticulture at the University of California, Santa Cruz.


As the first winner of this newly en- dowed scholarship, Rosas is already planning how she’ll incorporate her experience at UCSC into her dream of making organic foods accessible and affordable to low-income populations. In her opinion, locating an organic farm and/or farmer’s market near low- income neighborhoods encourages positive neighborhood interactions and provides healthy food alternatives to the cheap fast food that is contributing to the health crisis of poor nutrition.


Rosas spent several years working at internships around the Austin area and saw first-hand the challenges of getting healthy organic food to low- income populations. Having witnessed the immense community impact of City Farm, a nonprofit urban farm, and Ur- ban Roots, a nonprofit youth program on a farm, helped develop her commu- nity and ethical goals.


“I intend on being near an urban cen- ter, focusing on growing and providing affordable, accessible, organic food for all income levels,” says Rosas, adding, “What’s better than pesticide-free and chemical-free food grown with love?”


24 Organic Shopper Fall 2010


Evelyn Rosas Brings a Heart of Texas to her Mission


Since the establishment of this schol- arship award in perpetuity back in December of 2009, 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.


“This is the premier sustainable and organic training program in the U.S.,” says Kathy Larson, Vice President of Sustainability at Frontier. “During my visit in August 2009, I was impressed with the quality of the program – and even more so with the apprentices enrolled in the program. Our scholar- ship empowers a new generation of sustainable agricultural leaders, who otherwise might not have the opportu- nity to participate in advanced training and contribute as fully to the organic community.”


Each year, one apprentice will receive tuition assistance to learn 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 trans- form 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. “Each time you buy a Simply Organic spice, seasoning or mix, you make a small contribution that, when com- bined with many others, provides sig- nificant support to organizations and projects that research, develop, teach and promote organic agriculture,” says Kory Kazimour, Simply Organic Senior Brand Manager.


Simply Organic®, an all-organic brand from Frontier Natural Products Co-op™, offers an extensive and growing selection of certified organic spices, seasonings, baking flavors and mixes while supporting organic agriculture around the globe.


www.simplyorganicfoods.com


Frontier Natural Products Co-op™ Founded in 1976 and based in Norway, Iowa, Frontier Natural Products Co-op™ offers a full line of natural and organic products under the Frontier, Simply Organic®, Aura Cacia® and Aura Cacia Organics® brands.


www.frontiercoop.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52