Wegmans Starts Scholarship Fund at Johnson & Wales University

Wegmans Food Markets has pledged to contribute $250,000 in scholarship opportunities over the next five years at Johnson & Wales University (JWU). Full-time students enrolled in JWU's College of Culinary Arts at the Providence, R.I., campus will be eligible for a Wegmans scholarship administered by the university.

"Over the years, the university has developed strong relationships with industry partners that have been mutually beneficial," noted JWU Chancellor John Bowen. "The Wegmans brand is well known and respected by both its peers and customers. [T]heir generous gift … will support our students pursuing a career in the foodservice industry, some of whom very well may choose to work at Wegmans."

"Wegmans' mission is to help our customers make great meals easy so they can live healthier, better lives," added Jim Schaeffer, VP of culinary operations at Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans, a family-owned company with 85 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts. "To deliver on that promise, we must attract and develop the best culinary talent. Our hope for this scholarship is that it encourages the pursuit of culinary education from a top-notch school."

JWU is a private, nonprofit institution with more than 16,000 graduate, undergraduate and online students at four campuses in Providence; North Miami, Fla.; Denver; and Charlotte, N.C.