Let us provide a bit of background and an understanding of the target market within the context of what we’re offering.

History

What inspired us to begin My First Organics were the kids who visited our nursery, Surf City Growers, on field trips. We quickly learned why gardens are not as popular as they were with prior generations – it isn’t the kids who don’t enjoy gardening, but the parents! In fact, most were shocked watching their kids pick veggies off the vines and eating them raw.

We decided that if we built a fun, simple and affordable way for parents, teachers and homeschoolers to start their own garden with their young children, they would all learn to grow their own food and enjoy the health benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables. Three years later, we are proud to announce that My First Organics seed starting kits won a Parents’ Choice Award in the Spring 2011. The kits have also received positive reviews from Sunset magazine, Mother Nature Network and numerous mom blogs. If ‘Press’ impresses you, head here for a list of articles.

We also wrote a book to accompany the product – “How a Garden Saves the Earth”  – which introduces the environmental and nutritional connections to organic growing; it’s available as a soft cover book or as an free eBook for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Finally, we collaborated with LifeLab on K-3 curriculum that meets several Science, Mathematics and Language Arts standards. Both the soft cover book and curriculum are included in the Homeschool and Classroom Bundles.

The Marketplace

My First Organics surfaced around the same time as the childhood obesity epidemic started to become part of the national consciousness.

American society is looking for ways to eat better and be more environmentally responsible. In addition, the economy is forcing households to cut variable costs and find ways to get back to basics.

Growing your own food is a rising trend and is proving to be an inexpensive way for families to spend time together outside, being active in nature and away from the distraction of cell phones, video games, and television. Families are finding that investing a day in the garden a week can save hundreds of dollars in groceries, travel and entertainment expenses each month.

The USDA estimates that every $100 spent on vegetable gardening yields $1,000-$1,700 worth of produce – and consumers are increasingly using organic gardening methods. The National Gardening Association found that it makes up 21% of the market, and it’s growing fast. For under $20, each My First Organics seed starting kit harvests up to $250 worth of organic produce! What other fun, educational and delicious activity can families do with their kids for under $20 these days?

Highlights

• While we won wholesale accounts with the likes of Whole Foods, the National Gardening Association and The Tyler Florence Shop (Food Network chef), the majority of our business is on our website. The business grew 181% in sales the first year (2009-2010), with 48% gross margin (refills for the mini greenhouse boast a 65% margin).
• We won a Parents’ Choice Award in the Spring 2011, which can be leveraged for sales and marketing purposes (for example, the Seal can be marketed electronically and in print, and stickers can be ordered and placed on the product).
• In the spring 2010, we shipped a 10-pack of kits to the American Heart Association for ten Teaching Garden pilot schools.
• In the fourth quarter of 2010, we launched our Amazon presence in the Toys and Games category, and have maintained a 100% satisfaction and 5 star rating with Amazon customers.
• We earned the GreenCupboards Certified Seal of Approval, opening another online distribution point for the products. Green Cupboards also sells our kits through their Amazon.com store.
• We’ve had multiple partnership successes with online ‘group’ discount websites like Zulily, Gaggle of Chicks, and Family Finds.
• We were selected as one of the “40 Farmers under 40: Readers’ Choice” on the Mother Nature Network in September 2009.
• We created two active blogs – this one (Ecofare) and Real Food Action – and are the writers.
• We developed social media properties with a healthy following on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and manage them.

With all of this success, My First Organics needs a buyer who can take it to the next level – it needs a company or organization that has the resources to bring the product to families and schools across the nation. One willing to market to the GenY and Millennials generations – the most socially conscious ones since World War II – by being active on the social web and getting the product highlighted on the Internet.

If your business relies on a future generation of organic gardeners, this is a prime opportunity to enter it.

Not only are we willing to sell the brand and its assets, we would also entertain a temporary consulting arrangement to help with the transition. For example, we could continue to manage the blogs and social media properties on the buyers’ behalf for 3-6 months, as these activities can be managed remotely.

Another option for the buyer is to simply take over the Amazon property and have them fulfill orders from their warehouses, eliminating the need for housing inventory.

For additional information and to discuss further, please contact us at myfirstorganics@gmail.com or (831) 708-8606.

Trent and Linda McNair
Founders, Surf City Growers, Inc. and My First Organics

So, why not give it a shot, I thought.

And here we are, recognized by “The Nation’s Oldest Nonprofit Guide to Quality Children’s Media and Toys” as a winner in the Toys and Games category!

The Parents’ Choice Foundation’s founding principals were one of the main reasons why I felt that our product was a perfect fit:

• Children deserve material to sharpen young minds, not blunt them
• Children learn most easily when they enjoy it
• Knowledge gives parents confidence to teach their children
• And above all, because learning is fun – and we want kids to know it!

So I suppose it comes as no surprise, really, that My First Organics seed starting kits are a standout when it comes to a toy that fits all of these criteria. Here is a quote from the review that sums up why Linda and I have worked so hard these last few years to bring this product to children of all ages, everywhere:

Some would say there is nothing more rewarding than a garden. In this case, the experience of teaching our testers about the value of organic gardening and having them see their plants grow right before their eyes, has proven that to be true.

Read full review

Thank you Parents’ Choice Foundation! We hope we can continue to create worthwhile, amazing products that instruct, inspire and make families inquire.

Now, if only I had remembered to submit our children’s book in time as well…oh well, there’s always next year.

If you need fast income like our school does, we ask that you consider My First Organics seed starting kits as a fundraiser today. We would typically go into the health benefits of our fundraiser here, but let’s get to the financial ones first.

• Easy profit. You take HALF of the sale price, or $8.50 for every kit sold! Imagine if 100 students sold 5 kits each? That’s $4,250 towards closing that gap with minimal effort. Keep reading…
• One-day set up. You don’t have to do anything except ask. All you need is a Fundraiser Code and you’re ready to go in one business day.
• No administration. Because every sale is done on the Web, you don’t have to deal with the sorting and distribution of packages. Orders are sent direct to the donor, and shipping is paid by them as well.
• Customized tracking. Your Fundraiser Code tracks every sale. You simply give it out when you promote the fundraiser, and then get a check and sales report at the end.

If you are not sold on the simplicity and profitability of a My First Organics fundraiser, then let’s outline the healthy and ecological ones. Let’s face it: how much more candy, cookies or gift wrap do we need? In other words, you’ll actually feel good about what you’re selling.

The biggest benefit? My First Organics seed starting kits are a fun, simple way to get kids excited about eating their veggies. How? Because they have a hand in growing them. The entire family will enjoy:

• Getting outside and connecting with nature.
• Learning where food comes from.
• Growing and harvesting favorites like cherry tomatoes, snap peas and bush beans.
• Helping the environment using organic methods.
• Knowing that the whole kit is recyclable, reusable or biodegradable. In fact, 98% of the package is used – it’s a mini greenhouse!

If you’re convinced, sign up here and we’ll send you a 2-page Getting Started guide. Again, you can be up and running in one business day!

Why not use Earth Day – April 22 – as the occasion? Just think: this last push will not only help your school, but introduce a healthy, educational and fun summer activity for families everywhere!

Clearly, we didn’t realize that idea. But we’re happy to say that some McDonald’s executives have. Yes, we said McDonald’s.

We found out about LYFE Kitchens from a terrific news story posted by our friends at TakePart. Beginning this summer (2011), 250 of them will begin opening all over the nation — the first in Palo Alto, California (about 40 miles north of where we and Newman’s Own Organics live).

LYFE stands for Love Your Food Everyday, and is being created by the CEO and Chief of Operations from McDonald’s. Has guilt from serving unhealthy food finally caught up to them? We don’t care. We’re just happy that the King of Cheap, Fattening Fast Food – a major culprit of our obesity epidemic – has collaborated with Oprah’s former personal chef to create nutritious, under-600-calorie meals for the masses.

We think Subway and Chipotle have led the charge in teaching us about healthier food choices, although the latter is the model for using locally sourced, sustainable ingredients whenever possible. We’re excited about LYFE Kitchens because it can play a huge role in showing Americans what a healthy, 600-calorie meal looks and tastes like (can we say portion control)? We hope LYFE takes the opportunity to educate its customers about the importance of locally-sourced food, too. Of course, we can only wish that all of this sparks a movement towards a healthier nation — both physically for its citizens and economically for its farmers.

We watch this video about the Edible Schoolyard often because it recharges our purpose — now more than ever. With the new Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act passed in December 2010, the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley (led by two of our idols, Alice Waters and Chef Ann Cooper) can be a reality for every school. It is the gold standard of what is possible.

After getting a bit of background from our post, be sure to click on the video link to watch the transformative power of garden-based learning.

Any parent who has visited their child’s school cafeteria will tell you that the food is disgusting. Not only are our kids obese  – due in large part to the lack of fresh, nutritious food offered – but they are literally being poisoned by it. In fact, USA Today wrote an investigative series last year focused on the unsafe nature of the food we are serving over 31 million kids a day. The newspaper found that 23,000 children were sickened by food they ate at school from 1998 through 2007. They told us about cafeterias serving up recalled food and how food-borne illness linked to improper food handling was common.

The Act was up for re-authorization last year, and after much pressure from outraged parents and advocates, we’re happy to say that the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was passed in December 2010.

The main goals are to make sure that the food our kids are eating at school is safe and nutritious. It also includes improved training for cafeteria workers, quicker alerts to schools about food recalls, and directives to the USDA to increase the quality of the food served. We’re excited to see that it also authorizes and encourages the purchase of locally grown produce and the establishment of school gardens – all of which was pushed by first lady Michelle Obama.

Is it perfect? Probably not. But it’s a HUGE step in the right direction. Many kids rely on economical breakfasts and lunches at school; for a majority, it’s the only food they eat all day. If they are not fueled with healthy food, or are hungry, they cannot concentrate in class. They simply don’t have the energy to get through the day.

We’re thrilled to see that this bill will also increase the number of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals; all foster children would automatically be eligible for them.

In 1946, when President Truman signed the School Lunch Act, which preceded the Child Nutrition Act, he said “In the long view, no nation is healthier than its children, or more prosperous than its farmers.”

This statement hits at the crux of why we do what we do.

This Act will support local farms, which means we can revive local economies, supply fresher food that can be more easily traced back to its source (making it safer) and help the environment because it will have traveled a short distance. Most importantly, it will provide healthy food to our kids, giving them what they need to excel in school and secure the future of our nation.

You might think we’re exaggerating, but did you know that today’s children are predicted to be the first generation to live a shorter lifespan than its parents? As a nation, we can change that devastating course — and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is a monumental shift.

We simply can’t continue to do this without you — so thank you, thank you, thank you!

Shortly thereafter we received an email from Amazon.  Our storefront was in jeopardy for the holiday season due to the high demand and high expectations for customer service in the Games and Toys category (it was the best fit for our kits since they are an Earth science activity).   Rather than move every item into the Gardening category, we are doing our best to meet the demands that Amazon laid out in order to keep our kits in their rightful home amongst other items similar to ours.  Our main objective is to fulfill 25 more orders before October 31, 2010.  If we do this, we can leave our My First Organics Seed Starting Kits, curriculum bundles and book where they are.

So we are reaching out to our readers and making an offer.  If you head to our Amazon store and purchase one or more items equaling $15.00 or more, you can receive 15% off! Just enter code AMAZON23 at checkout for the discount.

So if you want to purchase a truly unique gift for little Joey’s birthday, get that special homeschool Mom going on garden-based learning, or even surprise your favorite teacher with our amazing curriculum bundle, now is a great time to do it!  The offer lasts until October 31, 2010.

So head to our Surf City Growers

AMAZON STORE

now and use code AMAZON23

Thank you all for your support!  See you in the garden!

And these days we are always seeking environmentally friendly alternatives.  Back to school should be no different.  So, do your thing!  Get those supplies; the new backpack, the reusable water bottle, some new shoes and rejoice that your lunchbox doesn’t have to be a sack.

Laptop Lunches to the rescue. They have created a wonderful, washable, reusable bento-box style system that eliminates waste (plastic baggies, etc.).  We are in our second year of using ours.  We even used it daily during summer camp.  Coupled with our beautiful (and machine-washable) Happikins we feel like its been a fabulous solution for us. 

Obviously these are marvelous for adults in the workplace and picnics as well.  But don’t take our word for it.  If you are a Facebook user you can find over 6,000 folks sharing their experience, or visit the Laptop Lunches website or blog where you can join their RSS feed for weekly recipes.  Right now they are up for an award from SheKnows.com in the Best Lunch Box category – so vote if you love their lunch boxes! 

For those of you that would like to find the best deal on a Laptop Lunchbox, enter code SURFCITY to save 10%

The Collective Roots non-profit has two key initiatives: Garden Based Learning & Food System Change.  These missions enable them to educate and engage youth and communities through sustainable programs that impact health, education, and the environment. Since 2000 they have been working to provide these programs and curricula with a hands-on approach for kids from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Garden Based Learning

Collective Roots works with children, youth and adults to design and sustain organic gardens on school and community sites.  These sites are linked with kindergarten through twelfth grade curriculum that meets California state science standards as well as health and nutrition curriculum that promotes school, community and state health/nutrition goals.

• Creating and managing the one-acre flagship garden at East Palo Alto Charter School, including integrated garden-based education for students in grades kindergarten through eighth;
• Running afterschool garden programming at Girls 2 Women in East Palo Alto;
• Conducting in-school and afterschool garden-based programming at Clifford Elementary School in Redwood City; and
• Developing a garden and garden-based curriculum for in-school and afterschool programs at the 49ers Academy in East Palo Alto.

Food System Change

Collective Roots engages residents and stakeholders in a full-scale initiative to increase access to fresh, local, healthy and affordable produce. Some of their accomplishments include:

• Operating the East Palo Alto Community Farmers’ Market for two successful seasons;
• Creating EPA Fresh Checks, an innovative coupon incentive program that makes fresh fruits and vegetables affordable to low-income families; 
• Sponsoring the EPA Regional Backyard Gardener Network, a group that supports the capacity of local residents to grow their own food;
• Implementing the Fresh Fest (Festival Fresco), a traveling suite of educational activities around fitness and nutrition; and
• Offering free cooking and nutrition classes for adults and children in partnership with Operation Frontline.

Wolfram Anderson, Executive Director of Collective Roots, states that “the city of East Palo Alto has not had a Supermarket or Farmers Market for nearly 20 years.  This has forced the community to rely on small neighborhood markets, liquor stores, or to leave the community for their food”. The direct result of this more consumption of processed, ‘fast’ food.

The city of East Palo Alto has not had a Supermarket or Farmers Market for nearly 20 years.  This has forced the community to rely on small neighborhood markets, liquor stores, or to leave the community for their food.

A food desert in East Palo Alto?  I may be too far away to frequent the EPAC Farmers Market, but I am encouraged to stop by to see for myself how this community has embraced change, and to find a way to help in some small way.

For more information about Collective Roots, the East Palo Alto Community Farmers Market, or to make a donation, visit http://www.collectiveroots.org