Canada
We’re proud to be part of Taylor Farms, a family-owned local company that gives back to the community that gives so much to us all. It’s always been part of how the company operates. Every year, we invest more than $1 million in local program that help build equity in under-served communities, focused on three areas: access to education at all phases in life; access to healthy food/promoting healthy lifestyle; access to healthcare.
We’ll tell you more about some of those programs in future articles. Today, we’re taking a quick peek at one of our favorites.
The First Grade Backpack program, is part of our Youth Development Program. At the start of the school year, we provide backpacks filled with school supplies to first-graders at several local schools so these future whatever-they-want-to-bes start off their scholastic journey on the right foot. 2019 was our seventh year and, so far, we’ve distributed more than 11,000 backpacks. It’s such a fun program…here’s a little peek at giveaway day.
And sometimes, emergency situations call us to do more. Responding to a tremendous, urgent need earlier this year, beyond the backpacks, we donated nearly half a million dollars worth of iPads and other tech tools to facilitate remote learning access mandated by COVID 19 restrictions, for those wouldn’t otherwise have access.
The philosophy behind our youth development program is that we want education to be inclusive and creative, providing learning and development opportunities inside and outside the classroom. Our program continues to evolve to meet community needs such as mentor programs, scholarships, entrepreneurial events and workforce skills.
For our other focus areas around healthy food & lifestyle and access to healthcare, we provided major funding to establish the Taylor Farms Family Health & Wellness Center in 2015. This center makes primary healthcare services accessible to residents of rural South Monterey County. Additionally, we bring numerous wellness services to the workplace, providing our employees with the tools to help them lead healthy lives, as well as equipping them to influence healthy lifestyles in the community. And, as you would expect, we are regular contributors to local and national food banks, providing coveted fresh produce to those in need of healthy food.
As always, thank you for choosing organic. And thank you for choosing Earthbound Farm, which is helping fund these critically needed programs. To learn more now, you can read our 2020 Social Responsibility and Sustainability Report here.
