Kiwi Magazine :: KIWIscoop e-Newsletter April 2007

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April 4, 2007

Schools Can Win $3,500

Has your child’s school made a commitment to nutrition? Do you think that its food program should get some national recognition? If you answered yes to both of these questions, then enter the school to win the first annual KIWI Crusaders Award. Sponsored by KIWI and FruitaBu, we’re honoring excellence in school food service from three categories: preschool, public and private.
Click here to apply.

Far Away with Starbucks
Experience a Different Coffee Buzz

With a Starbucks on every corner, treating oneself to the delicious caffeine buzz is easy. Ever wonder where Starbucks gets the beans that give us that extra hop in our steps? Ever dream about an adventurous vacation that gives you a natural buzz, even beyond your half-caf mocha latte? Well, Starbucks is now offering the chance to explore and be environmental and adventurous. Through their partnership with Earthwatch Institute, a leading environmental volunteer institute, Starbucks plans to conduct research that will benefit the CoopeTarrazu, a cooperative coffee farm in Costa Rica. On top of this research, the two have worked together on 15 conservation projects in places like Kenya, Belize, and Vietnam. Volunteers at the cooperative in Costa Rica will tract water resources, the number of trees, and the numbers of insects. The research gathered goes to the farmers that they use to enhance the sustainability of their farms and the quality of their coffee.

Sound interesting? Well, be sure to check the local Starbucks because beginning in April entry forms will be available for this year’s contest. Enter and try to win a trip to Costa Rica and the cooperative of CoopeTarrazu. There, the winners will be part of the research, gathering information on the local environment. This eco-adventure allows Starbucks employees and customers to work together to help the cooperative become more efficient at being environmentally friendly. The drawing will take place on May 13, 2007, with 20 winners. For more information, visit your local Starbucks or www.starbucks.com.

Snack Factor Diet

Do you always feel guilty after reaching for a snack in between meals? Well, shake the guilt away! Keri Glassman, R.D. founder of KeriBar, gives us the answers on how to battle the snack attack in her new book, The Snack Factor Diet: The Secret of Losing Weight by Eating More. Eating more? Doesn’t a diet consist of cutting back on food? Well, Glassman’s book teaches the secrets to eating and snacking right. The key is balanced nutrients, the right portions, and learning to read the body’s signals correctly. The inventive diet book also gives recipes for tasty and nutritional snacks such as vanilla smoothie and chocolate pudding. Finally, a diet that understands the need to snack.

To read more about Glassman’s inventive new diet book,
click here.

Keri Glass, MS, RD, is President of KKG Body Fuel, Inc, founder of KeriBar, and a member of Kiwi Magazine’s Advisory Board. Watch Keri on QVC—this Thursday, April 5th at 5pm EST

Farm Tracing

Trying to figure out where your bananas are coming from can drive you, well, BANANAS! Are they really organic? Where is this farm? Now Dole Food Company has made answering these questions and finding the specific source of your bananas a whole lot easier. With Dole’s new tracking system, consumers can virtually visit the farms where Dole organic bananas are grown.

Log onto www.doleorganic.com and enter the farm code written on the sticker from the banana bunch. You are then taken to a website page for the farm where your bananas were grown. The farm’s page includes pictures, a Google Earth link and information about the farm’s country, certifications, community and the Dole sponsored projects within it.

This farm tracing is a growing trend. Organic Valley also employs a labeling system to trace their soy products back to their co-op family farms. Being able to see where organic products are hailing from can give everyone a little piece of mind.

Enjoy an Organic Easter

"Organic" has made its way to the Easter Bunny. Fill your Easter Basket
with picks such as:

Organic Milk Chocolate Bunny - 12 oz solid milk chocolate bunny made from USDA organic chocolate.
Green & Black’s Chocolate Chocolate Squares
College Farm Organic NATUREPOPS™ Lollipops
Jolly Beans - organic jelly beans
Surf Sweets - organic jelly beans
Endangered Species Soybean Crayon Gift Set
Endangered Species Garden Finger Puppet Set with Dark Chocolate

For some tips on natural dyes for Easter Eggs visit
www.thegreenguide.com/doc/113/eastereggs. Check out your local supermarket for organic and/or free farmed eggs.