Whitney’s Weekly Highlight - Once Upon a Farm

This food and beverage company has me in awe of their character. Yes, you heard me right, their character. I’ve continually been impressed with how they interact with their customers and the public in general. If I had to pick one word to describe them it would be conscientious. So let me back up a bit because I want to explain how I ended up as their customer. 

I’m deeply passionate about farming and food. I’m acutely aware of how our food is produced, and I prioritize feeding myself and my children the healthiest food possible.  Don’t get me wrong, we eat McDonalds, cheez-its, and you name it.  But I at least take time to understand the supply chain and how the ingredients are sourced.   

I am not judging anyone for doing it differently.  Fed is best in my opinion. But for me and my family, I had to make some choices.  I have an autoimmune thyroid disorder which was progressively getting worse with traditional medicine. I turned to Functional Medicine, and it changed my life.  I have and continue to heal my body through the food I eat. I also believe that small bodies - babies, infants, toddlers – are more susceptible to the inputs that are added to our food. I was the mom that made all her own baby food. Again, there is no judgement here for doing things differently.  This is just what I had to do for my own body, and how I felt I needed to feed my babies.

But I’m also a working mom with limited time. I must find quick and portable food options for those days where I just don’t have time to cook (or haven’t been the grocery store all week).  And so, I chose Once Upon a Farm.  Just kidding. Didn’t even know about them when my children were babies. I fed the green applesauce and veggie pouches and was totally fine with it.  So, when did it change?

After I was laid off last October, I knew I wanted to get into sustainability within the Ag or the Animal Ag industry. I started connecting with businesses and people that occupy that space.  I dove into Food and Beverage companies that supported farming (see my last Weekly Highlight about PepsiCo).  And once I started getting to know that industry, Once Upon a Farm kept popping up.

I love their company’s mission and vision so much, that I applied to an open role.  And this is how they sold me.  After I had applied to their job, they immediately sent me an automated thank you email and a discount code for their products solely because I took time to apply to one of their jobs. How stinking cool!?  Not even 10 minutes after I had finished the application process, I had completed my first order using the discount code. Very clever marketing if I have to say.

So, here we are today. We are still learning which flavors my kids like.  They love some of the flavors, others not so much.  I feel good about the nutrition they are receiving, and I feel good that my money is supporting a company doing good for the environment and the people. And with that, here are my weekly’s highlights for Once Upon a Farm.

1.      They use USDA certified organic and non-GMO ingredients. Now look, I’m not an organic zealot. Most of the stuff I buy is NOT organic, and I don’t give too hoots about non-GMO. But I do adhere to the dirty dozen philosophy which those ingredients make up most pouches.  For example, strawberries are number 1, spinach is number 2, and apples are number 8 on the list of foods that contain high levels of pesticide residues.  If you don’t know what the dirty dozen is, you can learn more here: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php

2.      They test for over 400 environmental and industrial toxins. This is important to me because we are feeding tiny bodies which can accumulate toxins at a faster rate than adult bodies.

3.      They strive for clean eating which means their food is free from preservatives, added colors and flavors, and refined sugars. As someone that is healing her body through clean eating, this is big for me.

4.      This one is my favorite: they use high-pressure processing (HPP) instead of pasteurization. As a nutritional physiologist, I know what happens to food when you use high heat and high pressure.  You alter the nutrient profile of the foods. This technique maintains the integrity of the food to ensure the highest level of absorption and nutritional benefit.

5.      They are socially responsible.

• They worked through the process of getting their brand available through WIC. This is important because it gives access to underserved populations where access to healthy food options isn’t always readily available.

• They pledge to give 1 million meals through the non-profit Save the Children.

• They recently sent out an email giving their customers the option to opt out of Mother’s Day content acknowledging that the holiday can be challenging for some. This shows an incredible amount of awareness.

• When they can’t achieve perfection – like eliminating plastic from their pouches – they openly acknowledge it. They don’t shy away from hard conversations. They acknowledge that the plastic pouch isn’t the best, but also explain why it’s a necessity for now. They are working diligently in finding an alternative and even trying to embrace a circular system.

6.      They are innovative and continue to expand their product portfolio in ways that make sense for their brand. They might have started out as a baby food company, but they are quickly becoming a source of healthy food for the busy parent. For example, they now have ready-to-eat meals that showcase whole grains, legumes, and other whole foods. Whenever I go back to work, you bet I will be stocking up on these as quick on-the-go meals for my kids. Seriously, go look at them.

7.      Their customer service and digital tools are top notch. For example, last night I received my monthly box and my oat bars were missing. I called the customer service number and was met by an automated agent who used my name because of the phone number I was using. The automated system wasn’t gacky or hard to use. They understood my request, told me I needed to email them with some information, asked if I wanted this summary via text (which I did), and immediately sent me a text with the directions. I emailed the information they needed, and they responded via email. Everything was so seamless. I was shocked that an automated system could be so easy to use. It shows that they put thought into the provider of such systems.

8.      They don’t just give you different box options, they allow you to completely customize your monthly subscription. You get 24 items, and you can adjust your box to what your kids will actually eat.  This means you don’t accumulate that one flavor the kids don’t eat.  Or even better, when your kid randomly decides that their favorite flavor is now their worst nightmare, no problem, just go to their website and change it for the next shipment. Ultimately this means that you aren’t repeatedly paying for product that doesn’t fit your family.

9. And finally, I find Jennifer Garner hilarious.