Eating healthier can change lives, we see this positive change every day in the kids at the Boys & Girls Clubs! We give them a nutritious snack chock full of whole food ingredients and they are fueled to give their best at study, work, and play.

Every purchase of my products goes towards feeding kids in need... it's that simple!

Owner & Founder

The Challenge

Roughly 13 million kids in America are nutritionally starved.¹ This may be a form of starvation you're not used to hearing about... but it is just as serious! Kids across America are not receiving enough critical nutrition from the food that they are eating for them to grow, thrive, and succeed. 

A common misconception is that if someone is overweight or obese they are getting enough food to eat. This is flat out wrong. People may be eating a fair amount of calories, but they aren't gaining nutrition in the form of vitamins and minerals. Oftentimes, we see overweight people and think, "they need to cut back," instead of wondering what type of food they have access to, or their knowledge of nutrition and healthy eating.

How Does a Kid Become Nutritionally Starved?

Glad you asked - the reasons vary due to different socioeconomic factors; some families don't have the means to provide nutritious food on a consistent basis, other parents are strapped for time and resources to be able to cook nutritional meals each day, while some live in food deserts where there isn't a grocery store in sight and a fast food restaurant on every corner. 

Some of these scenarios may be hard to imagine, but we can assure you they exist and families within our and nearby communities are dealing with them on a daily basis.

The Consequences

When kid's diets are lacking in nutrition, they become hungry quickly after a meal which can lead to over-eating 'junk food', as well as they are unable to reach their full physical and cognitive potential. According to Stanford's Children Health, school-age children (ages 6 to 12) need healthy foods and nutritious snacks, as they have a consistent but slow rate of growth and usually eat four to five times a day (including snacks). Eating healthy after-school snacks is important, as these snacks may contribute up to one-third of the total calorie intake for the day.⁴

The Solution

We've covered why nutritionally starved kids is a big issue, but what do we do about it? We're working in alliance with The Boys & Girls Clubs to be able to reach kids in need and get food packed with nutrition right into their hands! Breakfast Cookie Minis are called a cookie for fun, but really they are a 'portable bowl of oatmeal' packed with whole grains and sweetened with fruit - fueling kids with whole food protein, antioxidants, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. The kids literally think they're getting away with something by getting cookies at The Clubs... and we get to know how each cookie is helping them from the inside out!

Fuel The Ride at Mt. Baker Ski Area

Erin Baker's partnership with the Mt. Baker Ski Area allows us to provide free breakfast to kids of all ages in the Mt. Baker Ski Area's Winter Ride Program. The program directors were finding that about half of the kids were hitting the slopes on empty stomachs. Now every Saturday during Winter Ride we set up a tent on the mountain to greet kids and offer them a free breakfast.

We are passionate about helping kids make the connection between fueling their bodies with healthy food and having lots of energy to perform on the slopes!

 

Riding with Erin Baker from Mt. Baker Ski Area on Vimeo.

 

 

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Citations:

1. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, Matthew P. Rabbitt, Christian A. Gregory, and Anita Singh. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2015." USDA ERS. N.p., Sept. 2016. Web. 22 June 2017.
2. Hyman, Mark, MD. "How Malnutrition Causes Obesity." HuffPost. N.p., 8 May 2012. Web. 22 June 2017.
3. Gillespie, Patrick. "U.S. problem: I work three part-time jobs." CNN Money. N.p., 19 May 2016. Web. 22 June 2017.
4. "Nutrition: School-Age." Stanford Children's Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 June 2017.
5. "The Effects of Good Nutrition on Children's Behavior." SF Gate. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 June 2017.
6. "Why People Become Overweight." Harvard Health Publications. Harvard Medical School, 11 Apr. 2017. Web. 22 June 2017.
7. Luscombe, Belinda. "Kids Who Eat More Fast Food Get Worse Grades." TIME. N.p., 23 Dec. 2014. Web. 22 June 2017.
8. Bush, Barbara, and Hugh Welsh. "Hidden hunger: America’s growing malnutrition epidemic." The Guardian. N.p., 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 22 June 2017.