Et cetera : Payton Haefner Receives the Fareway Family Scholarship

Payton Haefner, a graduate of Vinton-Shullsburg High School, has been awarded the Fareway Family Scholarship through the Iowa Grocers Education Foundation for the 2020-2021 academic year. Haefner was chosen for the $2,000 scholarship from an applicant pool of more than 400 students.

IGEF scholarships are awarded based on academic merit to sons and daughters of full-time employees whose firms are members of the Iowa Grocery Industry Association, a state trade association that represents the food industry, including chain and independent supermarkets, convenience stores, suppliers, wholesalers, brokers, manufacturers and distributors. Young adults who work for an IGIA member company (either full-time or part-time) are eligible as well. Haefner, who is majoring in animal science, will be a freshman at Hawkeye Community College this fall. She works at Fareway in Vinton.

"The IGEF scholarship program provides us with an opportunity to recognize the outstanding academic achievements of individuals who have connections to the grocery industry. We are honored to help these deserving young people to obtain a college education and make their life dreams a reality," says Michelle Hurd, president of the Iowa Grocery Industry Association.

Scholarships are provided by an endowment fund established by the Iowa Grocers Education Foundation and its supporters.

"We are grateful to the many corporate sponsors and donors," Hurd adds, "who participate annually in the Foundation process to make these scholarships possible."

Since 2001, the IGEF has helped 1,679 youth obtain a post-secondary education totaling more than $2.5 million. In 2020, 90 recipients were awarded a total of $159,300.