The White Rock Farmers' Market Society has selected two university students as winners of the Mary Hartwell Scholarship award for 2016.
Eric Wirsching of Surrey and Kimberly Martin of Abbotsford will each receive the $1,000 prize during an Aug. 14 presentation at the open-air Sunday market.
Wirsching is a fourth-year student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, majoring in sustainable agriculture with a minor in policy studies. Martin will be studying nutrition at Alberta-based Athabasca University.
The society's board of directors made its decision based on a series of interviews.
"Our selection panel was very impressed with the knowledge and passion of the eligible candidates – particularly their understanding of how the courses for which funds were sought fitted the scholarship criteria, how they supported the market and its vendors, and how they planned to make a difference to the lives of others," according to a news release from the society.
The scholarship award is named in memory of Mary Hartwell, who died of cancer in 2011. Hartwell was a passionate supporter of the market and served as a market society director.
The award is open to students who have, or will have, completed high school, and who plan to take courses leading to a career in health, nutrition or organic farming.