New scholarship program for school food and nutrition professionals announced

ITHACA, N.Y. – Friends of the Earth and the Food for Health Foundation today announced a new partnership aimed at bringing plant-based nutrition education to food service and nutrition professionals and teachers. Full scholarships for the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies’ Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate offered by eCornell, Cornell University’s online education platform, is being funded by the Food for Health Foundation with Friends of the Earth managing the outreach to identify scholarship recipients.

The joint effort between Friends of the Earth and Food For Health came about on March 23, 2019 at the memorial service of Thomas Dubois Hormel. Among the many individuals and organizations honoring Tom that day was Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth. “Plant-based food is an essential pillar in the environmental movement and Friends of the Earth is delighted to reach out to the educational food community to find worthy recipients of these generous scholarships,” said Mr. Pica.

Mr. Hormel’s wife and founder of the Food for Health Foundation, Marisa Ignacio Hormel, commented, “To honor my husband’s efforts, we’ve named the award, The Thomas Dubois Hormel Environmental Scholarship. This effort with Friends of the Earth will help those who work in the schools learn and share important information about the tremendous health benefits of plant-based food. Environmental advocacy was a central part of Tom’s life, and I want to pay this forward through scholarships to educate the next generation of environmental advocates.”

The Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate is a six-week online program of great value to food nutrition services staff, teachers, schools, garden and wellness staff who want to gain a deeper understanding of the scientific basis for better health from plant-based nutrition. “The idea that our environmental problems are connected to the way we produce and consume our food is attracting attention.” said Dr. T. Colin Campbell at the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. “It is time that high quality information on this topic be made widely available, and we are grateful to the Food for Health Foundation for providing more people the opportunity to learn about the connection between food and our environment.”

Application for these scholarships are available online now. Click the link below to get started.

Register here

Expert contact: Kari Hamerschlag, (510) 207-7257, [email protected]
Communications contact: Patrick Davis, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]