The Grazing Mind

Water restoration and conservation are important initiatives for Silk and we’re excited about a new project we’re involved in. We’ve recently partnered with the National Geographic Society, Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) and Participant Media as the first sponsor to support Change the Course—an ongoing effort to conserve freshwater and preserve the ecological health of the heavily dammed, diverted and overused Colorado River Basin. This campaign will empower individuals and communities to reduce their own freshwater footprint while making on-the-ground water restoration efforts.

Change the Course is challenging members of the public to learn about the vital issues of freshwater, calculate their own water footprints and take a simple pledge to conserve at changethecourse.us. For every pledge received, a Change the Course corporate sponsor, like Silk, will donate to the cause.  Each pledge will restore 1,000 gallons of water back into the Colorado River, working to make the river healthy again.

Silk is thrilled to support the Change the Course initiative, help restore the Colorado River Basin and positively impact a project in our own backyard. At Silk, we believe that we all need to do our part to use water more thoughtfully and productively to help keep our rivers and streams healthy.

Help us Change the Course and visit www.changethecourse.us to pledge to do your part and to learn more about this important waster restoration project. You can also check out this great video about the Change the Course project to learn how you can help restore the Colorado River by making simple and easy changes like taking two minutes off your shower, drinking tap water instead of bottled water and buying recycled.

As part of Silk’s ongoing commitment to educate consumers about what’s in their food, the entire plant-based beverage portfolio is enrolled in or verified by the Non-GMO Project. The Non-GMO Project provides independent verification that Silk’s products are made without GMOs, earning The Non-GMO Project Verified seal.

We recently launched a new, exciting product – Silk Iced Latte. At the time of launch, this product was enrolled in the Non-GMO Project program, and we are happy to report that it’s now officially verified. The Iced Latte packaging will be updated in June with the Non-GMO Project Verified logo, giving our consumers the opportunity to make informed choices about the foods and beverages they eat and drink.

It’s been a little more than three years since we officially launched our Mission here at WhiteWave, a mission that states – We will be the Earth’s favorite food company. And over the past few years we’ve collectively been trying to define what that kind of achievement would really mean and accomplish.

I think a lot of people get caught up thinking that achieving our mission revolves mostly around sustainability (as it relates to waste, emissions, water usage, etc.). But as the broader examples in the below video point out, the concept of “finding ways to improve quality of life” is helping us broaden the scope of what becoming the Earth’s favorite food company will really mean.

Sure, sustainable actions are going to be a big part of our work, and really, really important. But there’s a lot more that needs to go into creating a product/brand/company that people want to support. Whether that be partnering with local organizations to make packaging more easily recyclable, or offering new ways for people to enjoy a great cup of coffee, that idea is always top of mind for us.

Today marks the start to our biggest annual fundraising event for Community Food Share (CFS), an organization very near and dear to our hearts here at WhiteWave.  While we give to them year round–in the form of volunteer hours, monetary and product donations–the Compete to Beat Hunger Corporate Challenge  is our one, dedicated annual fundraising event to help raise money for CFS and fight hunger in Broomfield and Boulder counties.

This week is simply dedicating to going online, and donating to the cause. But next week, now that’s when things get real. Chili cook-offs, pie in the face contests, poker tournaments; you name it, we got it. All in an effort to raise as much money as we possibly can. We’ll be documenting activities all next week here in TGM, so tune in often…

1 in 5 American kids are going to bed hungry tonight.

That’s a pretty gripping stat from the Food Network’s recent documentary on childhood hunger in America – Hunger Hits Home.  The piece focuses on three families struggling to get by… struggling to feed themselves. But what’s worse, is that those three stories represent more than 16 million other kids who also come home to empty plates and empty cupboards.

Scary statistics aside, the documentary does highlight some really good progress in the fight to end childhood hunger, and does a great job of dissecting problems and offering up solutions. Simple awareness goes a long way, especially when people start to recognize how easy it can be to help out.

For us, that easy way comes from our local food bank, Community Food Share (CFS) who we work with year round (and who we’ve mentioned quite a bit before).

In fact in a little less than a month our biggest CFS initiative (Compete to Beat Hunger Challenge) is set to start up, and people around here are getting really excited about it. We’ve been part of the challenge going on eight years now, and I think most WhiteWavers will tell you it’s really the most humbling and rewarding thing we as employees do. It’s also a lot of fun.

I won’t spoil the surprise of what we’ve got in store, but stay tuned to TGM beginning May 8th when we’ll start covering the events and sharing all types of resources and ways you can join in the fun and help fight hunger in your community.

If you’ve got 30-40 minutes, check out the Hunger Hits Home documentary here. If you don’t have 30-40 minutes, check out nokidhungry.org, for a look at what people are doing across the country to help out, and how you can get involved.

Later this week, tens of thousands of natural food and products fanatics will descend on the Anaheim Convention center for Expo West; the nation’s largest expo of its kind. It brings together 50,000+ attendees navigating a labyrinth of  2,000+ booths filled to the brim with snacks, samples and pitch teams ready and willing to tell you why what they’re selling is great.

It’s the kind of event that brings together the industry’s best and brightest. Which means the only thing better than the snacks and tchotchkes, is the conversation. Conversations around what’s working well in the natural industry, what needs help, who’s new and who’s doing it right. Only problem is, not everyone gets to hear those conversations… that’s where we come in.

Introducing Patio Chats. A new feature to the WhiteWave booth meant to bring more of those great conversations, to more people. We’ll be covering a number of topics relevant to our business and the industry in general, and all are welcome to attend.

Check out the invite and list of topics below, and stay tuned to The Grazing Mind for more details around what’s going down this year at Expo West…

(if you’re tweeting at Expo West, be sure to follow the #PatChats hash tag for even more conversation and sharing)

Last August, WhiteWave kicked off a program called Share Your Delight.

When our consumers purchased one of our delicious holiday products – whether from Silk^®, Horizon^®, International Delight^® and LAND O LAKES^® – we asked them to go online and enter a code. By entering that code, we in turn donated $.50 to one of two great causes, including Toys for Tots or Coats for Kids.

Simple, right?

Well, maybe not for everyone. The holidays can prove to be a busy, stressful time that’s full of demands. It’s comforting to know that people will carve a few minutes out of their day to step up and make a big difference. The results are in, and thanks to our consumers, the Share Your Delight program generated:

• More than 115,000 codes entered online
• $42,000 for Coats for Kids
• $15,000 for Toys for Tots

We are proud of our consumers – thank you!

According to this, one-third of the world’s food is lost or wasted each year. That’s food actually produced for people, not wasted bananas that fall off the tree… stats like that really put the work we do with Community Food Share (CFS) into perspective.

As Adam mentioned a few weeks back, our annual fundraising event for CFS has been going strong through most of May. It’s one of WhiteWave’s biggest community service projects, and one that makes a real difference to hundreds of families in our area that count on the food bank every day. The drive ended yesterday, and the people here did not disappoint.

Through online donations, individually organized events (33 in total) which ranged from bake sales; raffles; kickball; even a poker tournament (raised $3,000 dollars by itself); we donated more than $55,000. And with the company match, we’ll be delivering more than $110,000 to CFS. That’s equal to more than 465,700 meals.

Granted, we haven’t fixed anything. But it is a small contribution to the problems associated with that story we referenced earlier in the post. And these small contributions help ensure that we keep drawing a connection between what we value, and what we do.

To see how you can help out with food banks in your area, click here.

Building off Luana’s post from earlier in the week, I thought it would be cool to recognize some other amazing givers outside our offices that are truly inspiring.

I’m a firm believer in embracing the inspiration to give whenever it moves you, But I think it’s also important to recognize the many who are dedicated to giving year round. One example - Homegirl Café in Los Angeles where founder Patricia Zarate hires and trains women who might otherwise be pulled into gangs. Not only do the new hires get cooking and barista experience, the restaurant’s new vertical garden offers a lesson in sustainability and local agriculture.

Of course it’s not the only one of its kind – Check out FareStart Restaurant in Seattle, Plates Café and Catering in Sacramento and Crossroads Café in San Francisco.

And in our neck of the woods, Same Café in Denver doesn’t offer a set menu or prices – patrons offer what they think their meal was worth, or even more to help out those who are less fortunate in the community. If someone cannot offer a dollar amount, the restaurant encourages donating an hour of service.

Definitely looking to make a field trip to see that kind of heart in person, and give a little bit back myself.

In honor of Non-GMO day today, here are a few links to help you:

1. Find retailers who are participating near you

2. Hear what our Silk brand’s vice president thinks about the issues around GMOs

3. Hear what scientists recently found out about genetically modified corn (not good news)