The Grazing Mind

Brian Allen from our Horizon sales team was on Denver’s 9News this morning to talk about WhiteWave’s sponsorship of the BolderBOULDER and the company’s training program for all employees in our Broomfield office. WhiteWave’s training program with Ric Rojas supports the health and wellness of Broomfield-based employees and is an example of how WhiteWave is working to become a different kind of food company.

The BolderBOULDER 10k is held on Memorial Day (this Monday!) and this year, WhiteWave has 80 employees registered to run the race.

Watch the video clip from 9News and learn more here: http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=337108

 We have hosted a variety of Spring-related events for our employees at our Broomfield offices in the recent weeks. First, our partners at Growing Gardens hosted a brown bag seminar on the fundamentals of Organic Gardening on Thursday, April 18. Connor Murphy from Growing Gardens explained the importance of selecting a site for your garden, irrigation and slope. If you’re planning to start your own garden, pay attention to the weeds you pull – they may be edible.

Second, Growing Gardens returned for their annual plant sale on May 1. Even though it was snowing here in Broomfield, the plant sale was a huge hit with our employees. Lauren Richardson from Growing Gardens had a variety of plants for sale including pansies, herbs like basil and thyme, and veggie plants like tomatoes and peppers.

And lastly to align with our Spring theme, compost from our friends at Eco-Cycle was delivered to WhiteWave Foods on April 24 in a big, green Eco-Cycle truck. EcoGro®, a Class I quality compost, is made from tree trimmings, food waste, yard waste, leaves, etc. A stable organic matter, it is a good source of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, sulfur and other nutrients essential for plant growth. The compost was available at WhiteWave for 10 days for our employees to take home and put their gardening skills to practice. I loaded up two bags of compost for my new garden and can’t wait to watch my flowers, veggies and herbs grow. Now, if only I can keep the dog from eating my homegrown cherry tomatoes!

We wanted to share more photos of the great kids we had at WhiteWave’s headquarters in Broomfield last Thursday for Bring Your Kids to Work Day. The kids were so engaged, interested and sharp. We can’t wait to have them back next year!

Calling all naturally-minded Boulder/Denver area entrepreneurs. Learn from experts how to succeed with your business.

When: Saturday April 27, 9 AM – 5 PM

Where: New Hope Natural Media Conference Center – Pearl & 14th Streets in Boulder

What: Professionals in the industry provide real-world education that is hard to find anywhere else, presented in classroom style with robust Q&A designed to maximize interactivity and learning.

Who should attend:
- Brands in the ideation stage
- Early stage, basic distribution 1-25 locations
- Early mid-stage brands
- Founders and partners
- Marketing and sales people
 

Why – breakfast, lunch and education including:

Legal roundtable
Antonio Gallegos:  Greenberg Traurig, LLP – Food Safety

Rob Goldstein: Polsinelli – IP and what an early stage brand needs to know
Ted Laszlo: LaszloLaw – Business formulation and partnerships

Marketing / Positioning
What a company founder needs to know when it comes to building a brand.  What are the tools associated with brand building and how do companies think strategically about their brands?
Blake Waltrip: Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, Quinoa Corporation
Kristine Carey: Vice President, Marketing, MyChelle Dermaceuticals

Sales and Distribution: Brokers, Distributors, Direct Sales, Retailers
Fred Storck: Storck Strategic Sales Development
Tom Rich: Store Team Leader, Whole Foods Markets

Lessons from the entrepreneurial landscape
Kelly McCallister: Co-founder, Gluten Free Bistro
Julie Nirvelli: Founder, White Girl Salsa
Kerry Gilmartin: Founder, Bamboobies

More info and registration forms here: http://www.naturallyboulder.org/events/event-registration/

The 13^th Annual Growing Gardens Community Plant Sale is this Saturday, April 13 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 1630 Hawthorne Ave. in Boulder.

Get a jump start on your early season garden with these cool weather, hardy plants:

 Vegetable Starts: Over 10 varieties of lettuce, spinach, braising mix, arugula, kale, chard, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage

Herb Starts: Sage, parsley, thyme, winter savory

Flower Starts: Pansies and violas

 All proceeds benefit Growing Gardens’ programming. Support your community and go and grow organic!

 Growing Gardens is a non-profit organization that raises awareness and provides opportunities for people to participate in urban agricultural programs. Find out more here: http://www.growinggardens.org/

Save the date for sales during the first three weekends in May for the rest of your organic gardening needs.

We’re actually preparing for a snow storm in Colorado, but look what is springing in WhiteWave’s neighborhood now! Welcome spring flowers.

As part of WhiteWave’s Values in Action (VIA) program that promotes volunteerism, community involvement, and environmental events and initiatives, our friends at Growing Gardens in Boulder came to our office recently to talk with us about the amazing world of honeybees. Interesting brown bag presentations such as this one are just one of the perks that employees of WhiteWave Foods get to enjoy. We learned so many fascinating facts about honeybees and want to share some of our favorites.

• The honeybee is the only insect in North America that doesn’t hibernate in the winter
• A honeybee’s whole body is covered in hair – even the eyes!
• If you could combine all of the brains in a swarm of bees, the swarm would have a brain similar in size to a dog’s brain
• A honeybee’s sense of smell is 40 times better than humans
• If you get stung by a bee, smell the spot where you were stung. It will smell like bananas!
• In the course of her lifetime, a worker bee will produce one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey
• The average American consumes a little more than one pound of honey each year
• Bees possess five eyes – three simple eyes that discern light intensity and two large compound eyes for detecting movement

Some of the most valuable fruits, nuts and field crops depend on insect pollinations, particularly pollination from honeybees.

• Almonds – 100% pollinated by bees
• Apples – 90%
• Blueberries – 90%
• Peaches – 48%
• Oranges – 27%

Honeybees are responsible for one third of our food supply. Thank you, honeybees!

Had a great time reminiscing on a truly great 2012, and jamming to some local tunes to close the year last night. Thanks to the Boulder Theatre, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters for putting on such a great show.

Check out some photos from the show below: 

Mandy McMichen, Attention Homes Volunteer of the Month

If you follow this blog, you know that as an organization we take community outreach and volunteerism pretty seriously. It’s integrated into our culture, our day-to-day job responsibilities, and even our personal annual objectives. And as part of those efforts, everyone is also encouraged to match the volunteer hours they give on company time, with the same amount of volunteer hours on personal time outside of work. It’s more of a recommendation than anything; there’s no policy that requires the time match. But you’d probably be surprised to see how many people actually meet that match.

There’s definitely no shortage of stories worth sharing in that regard, but one in particular stood out this month, as WhiteWave employee Mandy McMichen was recognized as Volunteer of the Month by Attention Homes, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving at-risk youth in the area.

According to Attention Homes, “Mandy always looks for something to do and someone to help. No stone is unturned and certainly no cooking pot left unfilled!”

Mandy shared her thoughts on her experiences in the Attention Homes newsletter, check ‘em out below, and congrats to Mandy!

AH: Why do you donate your time and efforts to Attention Homes?

MM: I work at WhiteWave Foods. Our President Blaine McPeak, recently implemented “Impact Day”, a day that our offices close after lunch and employees are sent out into the community to volunteer. He asks each employee to match those volunteer hours with personal time to really make an “impact” in our community. I loved the idea, but had no idea where I would volunteer my time. I learned that WhiteWave sponsors Attention Homes’ Kaleidoscope event and after reading more about it online, I knew it was just what I was looking for.

AH: How does your donation affect you and your life?

MM: Cooking healthy food for Attention Homes’ kids is such fun! They seem to really enjoy the food and often come in to chat or help me. I am becoming a familiar face around the house. I enjoy both listening and talking with the kids – I can’t tell you how good that makes me feel! Attention Homes is such an amazing organization. I am so proud to be a part of it. I’m doubly blessed to have the opportunity to work for a company like WhiteWave Foods that encourages all of us to give more of ourselves to our communities!

Wednesday, June 27 is Bike to Work Day, and our partners over at Boulder B-Cycle and The Denver Post have some pretty sweet tips and tricks for the day. Click here to check it out…