Nature’s Path announces first USDA Organic school-compliant cereal

Two EnviroKidz cereal varieties will be offered to California school children.

Courtesy of Nature's Path

EnviroKidz, a brand from Nature’s Path, has announced it is offering the nation’s first USDA Organic school-compliant cereal as part of the National School Breakfast Program, which is intended to make nutritious, organic foods more accessible to children.

In partnership with Conscious Kitchen and West Contra Costa Unified School District Nutrition Services (WCCUSD), the collaborative program offers participating California schools two gluten-free, organic EnviroKidz breakfast cereals as part of students’ morning options. With the goal to educate and empower students to feel their best by providing access to nutritious foods to start their day, Nature’s Path and partners are reinventing school breakfast with nourishing, organic foods that benefit people and the planet.

Close to 30 million students rely on school meals for a significant portion of their daily nutrition, with around 50% of their daily calories coming from these meals. Nature’s Path and partners reportedly are committed to improving school nutrition by making organic food readily available for breakfast. Both cereals being served as part of the program (EnviroKidz Choco Chimps, and the new EnviroKidz Monarch Magic) are made with nutrient-dense, whole grains and only 6g of sugar, while also avoiding the use of synthetic fertilizers and toxic pesticides. According to the company, the cereals offer health benefits that can nourish students’ development, while also advancing the holistic health of the planet as organic foods can increase soil biodiversity, which is essential for sequestering carbon and helping plants thrive.

“This program has been a labor of love as part of our mission has been to make organic food more accessible to more people,” says Jyoti Stephens, vice president of mission and strategy at Nature’s Path. “With many of us at Nature’s Path being parents ourselves, we wanted to give students a nutritious, organic breakfast that can help set them up for success. We’re excited to introduce our cereals to participating schools and look forward to expanding even further over the coming year.”

To officially kick off the announcement, Nature’s Path, Conscious Kitchen, and WCCUSD are hosting a special event for local representatives and decision-makers at Michelle Obama School in Richmond, CA on May 2, celebrating the new organic cereal offerings at select schools. The event will include influential speakers, such as organic food advocate Alice Waters, discussing the importance of organic food access, nutrition, environmental impact, and collective action, alongside a tasting of the new Nature’s Path cereals.

"This launch shows what is possible when a non-profit, business, and California school district join forces around a common goal—a true collaborative success for students, food services, faculty, our team, and Nature's Path," says Judi Shils, Founder of Conscious Kitchen. "We started Conscious Kitchen to bring fresh, local, organic, nutritious food to kids in schools to benefit their health, our communities, and shared planet. Alongside Nature's Path and WCCUSD, we are addressing food education, equity, and access while proving that organic is a viable option for school meals that can start with a bowl of organic cereal for breakfast!”

These cereals are packaged in EnviroKidz Ecopacs, which are made with recyclable packaging materials and use up to an average of 66% less packaging by avoiding cardboard. Nature’s Path’s EnviroKidz cereals also help protect wildlife as the company donates a portion of sales to environmental education and conservation projects that support vulnerable and endangered animals, such as the Jane Goodall Institute and XERCES. To date, Nature’s Path has donated more than $4.2 million to EnviroKidz species to support youth environmental education, habitat restoration, and species conservation work around the world.

“We are proud to support the launch of the first USDA organic, school-compliant, climate-smart, cereal starting here in our district and throughout California schools,” says Barbara Jellison, executive director, of nutrition services, West Contra Costa Unified School District. “Our kids helped taste test the cereals and gave valuable feedback to the Nature’s Path team. These next-generation leaders are learning what it takes to affect positive change in our school food system.”

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Jenni Spinner is the chief editor of Snack Food and Wholesale with more than 25 years of experience in business-to-business communications. She has written extensively about food production, safety and packaging; pharmaceutical drug development; concrete and masonry construction; and more. She holds a Bachelor’s in Communications from the University of Illinois. Jenni can be reached at spinnerj@bnpmedia.com.