Once Upon a Farm Makes Fresher, Organic Baby Food Accessible to Underserved Families

BERKELEY, Calif., March 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Once Upon a Farm, the beloved kid nutrition brand that makes organic, cold-pressed baby food, smoothies and applesauce, today announced a line of 2-pack baby food bowls available to WIC-eligible families, furthering the company's mission to increase the quality of foods for children in the U.S. This is the first refrigerated baby food specifically created for and made available to WIC participants.

"Bringing better nutrition to children everywhere has been our mission since the beginning—it's never been and will never be about just feeding children who have a socio-economic advantage," said Jennifer Garner, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer. "I'm committed to finding ways of providing healthy food to children who have less access and often limited opportunities. I'm grateful and encouraged by this first and very important step that we've made as a company."

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for more than 7 million low-income pregnant and postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five.  Every year, half of the nearly four million babies born in the U.S. participate in the WIC program.  While a federal program, product acceptance is determined at the state-level and currently only 12 of the 50 states approve organic products for infants.

"When Jen and I joined the company in 2017, we did so with the goal to create a business that would drive social impact and advocate on behalf of babies, children and parents everywhere," said John Foraker, Co-founder and CEO. "Being the first WIC-approved refrigerated baby food was an audacious goal of ours and we have worked incredibly hard to make this happen so early in our business journey."

Once Upon a Farm's line of 2-pack of baby food bowls is the first organic, cold-pressed baby food specifically developed to meet WIC's strict pricing, size and nutritional requirements. Like the rest of the Once Upon a Farm line, the WIC-eligible products are blends of whole fruits and vegetables that are cold-pressed to lock in nutrients, flavors and texture, making them a fresher alternative to traditional shelf-stable baby food. The line includes four SKUs of stage 1 & 2 blends: Apple; Apple Sweet Potato Blueberry; Pear Carrot Mango; and Banana Strawberry Beet. The bowls, which have an SRP of $2.58 per 2-pack, have been WIC-authorized in Florida and West Virginia and are in the process of gaining approval in additional states.

"Upon attaining WIC authorization in Florida and West Virginia, we are able to make a significant difference in the lives of nearly 125,000 WIC-eligible infants, especially during the first critical 1,000 days of their lives," said Foraker.

Once Upon a Farm has seen historic growth over the last year, expanding from 300 retail locations to more than 8,500. Key retail partners include Target, Kroger, Publix and Walmart among others. Once Upon a Farm's WIC-eligible baby food bowls will be available in June 2019 at select retailers in WIC-authorized states. For more information, visit www.onceuponafarmorganics.com.

Media Contact:
Jane Ablaza
510-501-7668
[email protected]

SOURCE Once Upon a Farm

Related Links

http://www.onceuponafarmorganics.com