Food/Design Group Distributes Grants

Little did Essie Elliott know that the money she earned selling cookbooks would help home-economics students and teachers 80 years later.

As a founder of the Los Angeles district of the American Assn. of Family and Consumer Sciences, she sold cookbooks for 50 cents apiece during World War I.

The proceeds, later placed in a mutual fund, have grown to more than $150,000, part of which is now spent on scholarships and grants for those pursuing or furthering their careers in food science, fashion and home design.

“We like to help the students--the cost of college has skyrocketed recently,” said Evelyn Clarke, the organization’s district treasurer. “We like to help those who are outstanding in their areas and reward them by giving them a scholarship.”

This year’s recipients, who each received $1,000, included three Cal State Northridge students: Magda Adel Mansour, a food-science major from Granada Hills; Erica Faye Doval, a fashion-design major from Sherman Oaks, and Susan Volpe, a Sylmar resident and graduate student in the interior-design program.

The grant winners included Valley College instructor Doris Davis and CSUN, which will receive two $1,500 grants for the university’s family and environmental science program.

In all, the organization awarded $11,900, Clarke said.