WINNIPEG, MANITOBA--(Marketwired - Oct. 13, 2016) - Like many young Canadians, Louis Ditner found his passion while working a part time job during high school. He has worked alongside the chef at Elmira, Ontario's Never Enough Thyme catering for the past three years, where he demonstrated a real love for and knowledge of food. This year he is taking the next step in his journey to becoming a chef at Niagara College with the financial boost of a $1,500 Monsanto Fund Opportunity Scholarship.
Ditner is one of six students pursuing a career in nutrition or the culinary arts who join 61 agriculture students as recipients of the 2016 Opportunity Scholarships. To celebrate 25 years of the program and embrace the link between agriculture and food, the Monsanto Fund opened its scholarship criteria this year to include students raised on the farm or off, who have chosen to pursue post-secondary education in agriculture or food-related fields. According to his mentor, Ditner is a great candidate as someone who understands not only how to prepare delicious food but also appreciates how that food is produced.
"Louis Ditner has a passion for food in all its forms," Acheson, chef/owner of Never Enough Thyme, wrote in his reference letter. "The understanding of growing vegetables, making cheese, raising animals. From farm to table Louis respects and understands food unlike any young student or some chefs, for that matter."
Thousands of deserving students have received a total of more than $1.8 million since the program launched using corporate funds in 1991. Transition to the Monsanto Fund in 2012 has enabled more students to win scholarships due to consistent funding for the program.
"Our program is still primarily aimed at encouraging young people to pursue careers in agriculture," said Kelly Funke, public affairs manager with Monsanto Canada. "But we see food as an extension of agriculture. When the world is faced with the challenge of feeding an ever-growing population, it will take solutions from all parts of the ag and food sectors to do it. Maybe some of those ideas will come from these 67 amazing students."
All applications were reviewed by an independent judging panel comprised of: Robert Adamson, consultant and program director with Pembina Trails School Division; Sue Clayton, Executive Director of Agriculture in the Classroom-Manitoba Inc.; John Morriss, journalist, Farm Business Communications; Crystal Jorgenson, Communications Specialist for the Faculty of Agriculture and Food at the University of Manitoba; Ellen Pruden, Education and Promotion Manager for the Manitoba Canola Growers Association; and Brigitte Burgoyne, Communications and Digital Media Specialist, Richardson International.
Administered on behalf of the Monsanto Fund by Agriculture in the Classroom-Manitoba Inc. (AITC-M), the scholarship program received 157 applications from across Canada this year.
"Helping to choose these scholarship winners is a gratifying experience," said Sue Clayton, executive director of AITC-M. "As someone who is focused on agriculture education, I see farm and food intersecting all the time, and these young people are definitely making the connection."
Contact us for information on the stories of scholarship winners near you. Details on the launch of the 2017 Monsanto Fund Opportunity Scholarship Program will be released in February 2017 and will also be available online at www.monsanto.ca .
About the Monsanto Fund
The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org
About Monsanto Canada
Headquartered in Winnipeg, MB, Monsanto Canada Inc. is part of the larger global Monsanto Company. Monsanto is an agricultural company committed to bringing a broad range of solutions to help nourish our growing world. We produce a variety of seeds ranging from fruits and vegetables to key crops - such as corn, soybeans, canola and cotton - that help farmers produce abundant and nutritious food. We work to find sustainable agriculture solutions that help farmers conserve natural resources, use data to improve farming practices, use water and other important resources more efficiently, and protect their crops from pests and disease. Through programs and partnerships, we collaborate with farmers, researchers, nonprofit organizations, universities and others to help tackle some of the world's biggest challenges.
To learn more about Monsanto, please visit: www.monsanto.ca or follow us on Twitter @MonsantoCda.
NOTE: The complete list of 2016 Monsanto Fund Opportunity Scholarship winners, by province, is included below.
| 2016 Monsanto Fund Opportunity Scholarship Winners | ||||||
| BRITISH COLUMBIA | ALBERTA | |||||
| Burl Piper | Dawson Creek, BC | Erik Anderson | Scandia, AB | |||
| Mattias Crooymans | Bow Island, AB | |||||
| Paytten Fankhanel | New Norway, AB | |||||
| Thomas Gabrielson | Rivercourse, AB | |||||
| Emily Gross | Bow Island, AB | |||||
| Hannah Hendrickson | Red Deer County, AB | |||||
| Jenna Hodnefield | Bashaw, AB | |||||
| David MacTaggart | Lacombe, AB | |||||
| Megan McGlynn | Pincher Creek, AB | |||||
| Erica Nelson | Rumsey, AB | |||||
| Tracy Niggli | Milk River, AB | |||||
| Megan Wanchuk | Milk River, AB | |||||
| Kaitlyn Mills | Taber, AB | |||||
| SASKATCHEWAN | Sydelle Zukowski | Blackfields, AB | ||||
| William Berry | Carievale, SK | MANITOBA | ||||
| Brooklyn Braun | Beechy, SK | Chantal Boonstra | Marquette, MB | |||
| Amy Carruthers | Frenchman Butte, SK | Noah de Rocquigny | St. Claude, MB | |||
| Sheldon Daniel | Avonlea, SK | Bailey Gitzel | Graysville, MB | |||
| Chelsey Fitzsimmons | Colonsay, SK | Lina Gordon | Franklin, MB | |||
| Allison Karstens | Wilkie, SK | Kevin Grenier | St. Léon, MB | |||
| Kaitlyn Kitzan | Theodore, SK | Hendrik Jonk | Bruxelles, MB | |||
| Ryan Krupski | Lemberg, SK | Jessica Mayes | Pierson, MB | |||
| Autumn Lawson | Rose Valley, SK | Mackenzie Miller | Oakville, MB | |||
| Michala Linklater | Redvers, SK | Mikayla Rouire | St. Claude, MB | |||
| Lacey Malone | Shaunavon, SK | Stephanie Stinson | Treherne, MB | |||
| Collin Montgrand | La Loche, SK | Emily Upgang | Poplar Point, MB | |||
| Mariah Nattress | Marsden, SK | Carter Watkins | Swan River, MB | |||
| Payton Wiebe | Osler, SK | Randi Wright | Portage la Prairie, MB | |||
| Coral Willness | Naicam, SK | Rebecca Zimmer | Russell, MB | |||
| ONTARIO | QUEBEC | |||||
| Jacob Baelde | Brinston, ON | Matthew Elliot | Howick, QC | |||
| Thomas Bowman | Thornloe, ON | Marie-Pier Lachapelle | Malartic, QC | |||
| Pauline Cotter | Fort Erie, ON | Nicolas Marquis | St-Jean de Dieu, QC | |||
| Louis Ditner | Elmira, ON | |||||
| Jenna Hedden | Beachburg, ON | |||||
| Lauren Horst | St. Jacobs, ON | |||||
| Elaine Jeffs | Campbellford, ON | MARITIMES | ||||
| Emily Kyle | Drumbo, ON | David Cooper | Great Village, NS | |||
| Zachary Lapointe | Embrun, ON | Hannah Facey | New Glasgow, NS | |||
| Casey McGee | Port Lambton, ON | Ella Lentz | Mt. Uniacke, NS | |||
| Rebecca Redner | Warkworth, ON | Meagan MacDiarmid | Napan, NB | |||
| Whitney Small | Wallacetown, ON | Therese McCurdy | Beaver Brook, NS | |||
| Michael Sullivan | Kinburn, ON | |||||
| Timothy Vanderlinde | Camlachie, ON | |||||
| Quinn Wilson | Harriston, ON | |||||
