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Giving Back to — and Through — Our Employees

It’s impossible to separate a company’s passion from the people who make it work every day. Our employees are proud to support Earthbound Farm’s mission to share the benefits of organic food — and in turn, Earthbound Farm supports our employees’ passions for other causes, as well.

Each month we donate to a nonprofit organization nominated by our employees. An Employee Charity Donation Program committee meets monthly to review the nominated organizations and to select the charities to receive awards that month. Here are some of the charitable organizations our program has supported.

Employee Scholarship Program

Earthbound Farm employees make the fulfillment of our mission possible — some have been with us since the earliest days of our company. To honor all of them, we’ve created two renewable scholarships that are awarded each year to children of employees headed to college or other post-secondary education. It’s a smart investment in all our futures.

Our 2008 scholarship winners will be announced in June. Meet our 2007 scholarship recipients:

Alicia Herrera, daughter of Angeles Martinez in the packaging department, recently graduated from Dos Palos High School and plans to major in psychology at Hawaii Pacific University. An accomplished student, a talented soccer player, and a respected student leader, Alicia has been recognized as a mature, honest, and hard-working young woman by her teachers and peers. As student class president, Alicia won the trust of her classmates through her hard work, and she was voted Best Personality by the senior class. One of Alicia’s most poignant memories was when she decided to work in the fields. “It was my choice to go through with it, and I am proud to say that I was successful — at the same time, I learned a valuable lesson that I will carry within me forever,” she says. “It was truly life-awakening.”

Cecilia Fernandez, daughter of Alicia Ortiz in the raw product department, plans to attend Cal State University at Chico. She is a strong, passionate young woman who loves to read and write. As City Council Youth Commissioner, Cecilia works with the city of Salinas to organize and promote youth activities in her community. Recently she helped make 600 sandwiches for the homeless, and she is currently planning activities to help women in the Crisis Center. “I enjoy activities like these,” she says. “They provide me with the satisfaction of knowing that someone ate a meal and appreciated my hard work.” In 10 years, Cecilia hopes to be a social worker with a master’s degree. She also wants to travel the world and learn new languages and cultures.