One lucky sustainability student will soon get more than a burrito from local Chipotle restaurants.
As a reflection of their community partnership, ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability and Chipotle Mexican Grill have established the Chipotle Sustainable Food Systems Scholarship, a one-time award of $1,000 funded by the restaurant that will be awarded to one sustainability student.
“We want to celebrate and reward high-caliber students who are focused on making a difference and bring the campus and large community together around issues of sustainable food systems,” said Lauren Kuby, manager of events and community engagement at GIOS.
Kim Pearson, a sustainability and Spanish junior, applied for the award.
“The scholarship is intended to reward sustainability students who have maintained a high level of academic achievement in addition to those who have been involved in food sustainability, either through projects or their studies,” she said.
Both GIOS and Chipotle promote sustainable lifestyles, sustainable food production and sustainable solutions for the environment.
“Chipotle is the realm of sustainable food systems,” said Kuby. “They are leaders in working to improve our country’s food supply, working with local farmers in an equitable way and embedding themselves in their local community.”
Jennifer Granillo, Chipotle local store marketing consultant, said she is proud to be a part of the scholarship effort.
“[The scholarship] is a partnership with ASU, who we have been working with for a few years,” she said. “ASU has the same ideals that Chipotle does, which is serving food with integrity and knowing where food came from.”
For many students, being conscious of the way food is produced factors into what they buy.
“It is very important that the food I eat is farmed or harvested in a just and environmentally-feasible manner, meaning that farm workers are treated with respect and that the land is protected to the utmost of our ability,” Pearson said.
To raise money for the scholarship, the three Tempe-based Chipotles will host a fundraising event Friday. Fifty percent of the proceeds from purchases that recognize the event will go to the scholarship fund. The event will be hosted from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“This fundraising event will not only provide a student with the opportunity to continue the pursuit of sustainable food systems, but will also spread awareness on the fact that many scholars are dedicated to issues such as food security, food justice, sustainable food production and many other topics within food systems,” said Pearson.
The scholarship has been publicized through flyers, email blasts, Facebook, Twitter and the School of Sustainability website for the last few weeks.
The scholarship committee will review applications for the scholarship in the next week. The $1,000 will be awarded at the School of Sustainability Convocation on May 12.
Reach the reporter at ctetreau@asu.edu
