Timonium, Maryland (May 3, 2022) – Michele’s Granola, a scratch bakery producing handmade granola and muesli cereal, awarded more than $60,000 in grants ranging in size from $5,000 to $15,000 to seven nonprofit organizations leading the way to a healthier, more equitable food system.
Michele Tsucalas, founder and owner of Michele’s Granola, created the Give One for Good Food® fund in 2013, through which the brand donates 1% of gross sales to organizations improving access to nutritious food with a commitment to supporting BIPOC-led groups. With this most recent round of unrestricted grant awards, the brand is deepening its engagement with and telling the stories of east coast organizations making a measurable impact. The grantees are:
- Farm Alliance of Baltimore, MD
- Baltimore Hunger Project, MD
- Common Good City Farm, DC
- Crossroads Community Food Network, MD
- Soul Fire Farm Institute, NY
- Intersection of Change (Strength to Love II program), MD
- TasteWise Kids, MD
The grantees’ programming targets a range of age groups and populations, conducting activities from the development of urban farms and community kitchens, to distributing healthy food where it is needed most, and providing nutrition education, farmer training and workforce development. Says Tsucalas, “As a business leader in food, it’s my responsibility to bring visibility to the inequities in our food system and to support those who are developing creative solutions to address them at the community level.”
Says Soul Fire’s Communications Director, Cheryl Whilby, “This grant from Michele’s Granola is critical to funding our capacity building as an organization and deepening our food and land sovereignty work.” This general operating donation will support their mission to end racism and injustice in the food system through food sovereignty programs and programming including farmer training for Black and Brown growers, reparations and land return initiatives, food justice workshops for youth, and more.
In addition to this round of grant funding, Michele’s Granola’s philanthropic efforts in 2022 include a multi-faceted partnership with Whole Foods Market’s Whole Cities Foundation providing unrestricted funds to the foundation as well as grants through their Community First and Local Leaders grants programs to support resident-led food access projects across the country that are addressing the nutritional needs of their communities by transforming the local food landscape.
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About Michele’s Granola
Since 2006, Michele’s Granola has been dedicated to making small batch granola from scratch, prepared fresh daily by hand with simple natural, organic and GMO-free ingredients. With a team of 80 employees, the company produces more than 35,000 pounds of granola weekly, which is distributed to 1,500 natural food retailers, grocers and food service facilities, and available online and on Amazon.com. Michele’s is committed to improving nutrition and supporting local food entrepreneurship by donating 1% of all sales to non-profits with a food-based mission. More information at www.michelesgranola.com and via Facebook and Instagram.
Michele’s Granola Contact:
Lauren Shafer, Marketing Manager
410-350-0051 x1002
Photo credit: Soul Fire Farm Institute