Jennifer Witherbee of the Washington Apple Education Foundation, left, thanks Walmart officials Shelly Palmer, holding a $25,000 mock check, and Michael Rainey during the Northwest Cherry Institute meeting in Yakima, Washington.

Jennifer Witherbee of the Washington Apple Education Foundation, left, thanks Walmart officials Shelly Palmer, holding a $25,000 mock check, and Michael Rainey during the Northwest Cherry Institute meeting in Yakima, Washington.

The Walmart Foundation has awarded a $25,000 grant to the Washington Apple Education Foundation to support its scholarship training program. The award was presented during the Cherry Institute meeting in Yakima on January 13.

The Apple Foundation works with high school students in Washington’s tree-fruit districts to help them secure scholarships for higher education. This is particularly important to those who are the first in their families to pursue higher education.The Apple Foundation itself awarded $425,000 in scholarships to 151 students in 2011.

The Walmart Foundation supports traditionally underserved groups and recently distributed more than $600,000 to organizations in Washington State, including the grant to the Apple Foundation.

Walmart is the largest single purchaser of Washington-grown produce. It purchased around 400 million pounds of apples, pears, and cherries from Washington producers in 2011, according to a press release.