ONTARIO, CANADA - Cultivating and supporting our next generation of industry members and positioning them for success is not just admirable, it is essential. As we reach a critical turning point in the search for talented up-and-comers, generating awareness around the opportunities in fresh produce is where we must focus next. This is the rallying cry of the Mucci Farms team and so many industry trailblazers like them. In 2022, the company is executing on this vision with the official launch of the Mucci Farms “Grow With Us” Scholarship Fund.

“As long-time community supporters, we are always looking for new ways to give back, and a scholarship program for local schools has been on our radar and serves multiple purposes,” Emily Murracas, Director of Marketing, tells me, sharing the vision behind this new investment. “First and foremost, we wanted to reward hard-working students and incentivize them to pursue careers in our rapidly growing industry. This scholarship program allows us to raise awareness and stay top of mind for high school students entering post-secondary education.”

The ongoing struggle to find and recruit talent across the industry is real, and felt at nearly every level of our sector. Through Grow with Us, Mucci Farms is offering scholarships to students that are entering post-secondary education in a wide variety of fields that play a role in the success of the agriculture industry. This vision allows Mucci to help get the message out that our industry employs people with a broad spectrum of experience and education.

“We have several departments such as finance and administration, IT, special projects, and marketing, to name a few, that require little or no background in produce,” Emily expresses. “This message was very important to us to help address misconceptions about the extensive farming experience most believe they need in order to have a career at Mucci Farms.”

In order to obtain such amazing support, there are a few key details to get our next generation started down the fresh produce path created by the Grow with Us Scholarship Fund:

• The program is open to any high school graduate in the Windsor/Essex region
• Three winners receive $5,000 each, plus a summer internship
• Applicants must carry a minimum academic average of 75, submit an essay describing why they believe they deserve the scholarship, and more importantly, how they think their field of study can impact the agriculture industry
• Mucci Farms considers a combination of grades, extracurricular activities, reference letters, volunteer work, and overall passion for their field of study

“It’s important that young people in our communities recognize the wealth of opportunities available in our industry,” Emily reflects, expanding on the benefits. “Communities that can offer gainful local employment keep the best and brightest from leaving for greener pastures. It’s our desire to create a culture of students that want to apply their skills in our industry since there are so many different roles and possibilities.”

As a testament to the already successful initiative, Mucci Farms engaged in a soft launch of the program last year, and two of the winners share their words with us…

Ava Augustine

“The Mucci Farms Grow With Us Scholarship has inspired my pursuits toward sustainability as I continue my degree in Environmental Science and Indigenous Practice at the University of Guelph. I am grateful for the generosity of Mucci Farms, and I felt supported by their incredible team to continue studying in hopes of equally giving back to my community throughout my career. The connections that this scholarship provided were deeply rooted within our town and illustrate how, together, we can all grow toward a better future. Thank you Mucci Farms!”

Lily Stasko

“In high school, while looking forward to pursuing my passions of environmental engineering at the University of Waterloo, I knew that my education was going to be quite expensive. I was happy that I could find a scholarship, like the Mucci Farms Grow with Us scholarship, that aligned with my values, was locally sponsored, and reflected my hopes for environmental sustainability.”

A huge thank you for your community and industry investment and passion, Mucci Farms. A rising tide, most definitely, lifts all boats.

Mucci Farms