Twenty scholarships totaling $67,000 to help students pay for college.
The New Jersey Food Council has announced the winners of its 2017 Education Development Scholarship Awards, and QuickChek team members were among the winners.
Twenty member scholarships totaling $67,000 were awarded to an employee or family member of food industry related companies at a special scholarship reception held April 4, 2017 at the Forsgate Country Club in Monroe.
Both the number of recipients and the scholarship funds given out were the most in the seven-year history of the food council’s educational development program.
“We are proud of how significantly our scholarship program has expanded over the last few years,” said New Jersey Food Council President & CEO Linda Doherty. “When we created this small scholarship program in 2011 to help grow the future of our industry and to benefit our members and their families, we had no idea that it would grow so quickly. The incredible support of our members and the opportunity to make such a significant impact on the lives of our associates and their families makes this one of the most rewarding programs we offer.”
The New Jersey Food Council is the Garden State’s preeminent trade association representing almost 400 members serving the retail, wholesale and manufacturing segments of the New Jersey food distribution industry.
“We’re proud to be active members of the food council and part of the NJFC scholarship program, where we have the opportunity to promote the food industry as a whole and reward young people reach their goals to be successful in it,” said QuickChek Senior Vice President and NJFC Vice Chairman Mike Murphy.
Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based QuickChek, Convenience Store Decisions’ 2016 National Convenience Store Chain of the Year, participates in the scholarship program along with companies such as Whole Food Markets, Inserra Supermarkets, Cuellar Family ShopRites, and Acme Food Markets.
Of the 20 scholarships awarded, QuickChek team member Dana Schmeltzle received the $5,000 NJFC Student Award, which is given to a graduating high school student or college student who is a family member of a full-time employee, NJFC employee or part-time student employee. Schmeltzle works part-time in the pharmacy department of QuickChek’s store in Washington, N.J. and is a sophomore at North Carolina State University.
Yasmine Elasmar, who will be attending New York University in the fall and is a part-time team member in one of QuickChek’s stores in Piscataway, received the QuickChek Corporation Scholarship, an award of $2,000 to an employee or family member employed at the fresh convenience market chain.
Olivia DelVecchio received the QuickChek Corporation Scholarship last year. A part-time team member in QuickChek’s store in Clark, she attends Fordham University.