Sunshine For All

As you sit down to eat your breakfast in the morning or grab an afternoon snack, take a minute to consider your food, how it was made, and how it got to your plate.

The fruit on your plate were grown and picked on farms, then processed, packaged and sent to the grocery store where you bought them.

Sounds simple, right?

The truth is, that process is anything but simple and at every step in the journey to your plate, harm can be caused to the people who grow it, the communities that need it, and the planet we all call home.

For example, thousands of kids live in food deserts and areas where access to affordable and nutritious food is limited. Around the world, one in three children suffer from some form of malnutrition, and yet, up to 40% of food in the United States is never eaten.

In addition, the plastic packaging used to transport and store your food is made with fossil-fuels, which emit greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change. Then, that packaging is tossed away, ending up in landfills or as litter into our environment and waterways.

It's easy to feel overwhelmed thinking about all of this, but here's the good news: some companies are working to change all of this.

They're working towards environmental sustainability, while still providing nutritious foods to everyone. One of those companies is Dole Packaged Foods.

There is a Japanese philosophy called Sampo Yoshi that states that all businesses should have a Three-Way Satisfaction: it should be beneficial to the customer, the seller and society. This is the philosophy that inspired The Dole Promise.

Dole, together with their partners, promises to work towards six goals that will make their business not only good for them, but also for the people who eat their food and the planet as a whole.

Here are the promises:

1. By 2025, they will contribute to good nutrition for 1 billion people by helping improve education around nutrition. They'll also increase the affordability and availability of their products. This will help combat malnutrition rates and food deserts.
2. They pledge to reach zero fruit loss on their farms by 2025 in order to combat food waste.
3. They commit to use zero processed sugars in their products by 2025.
4. They are moving towards eliminating fossil fuel-based packaging, like plastics, by 2025.
5. They are working towards carbon neutrality by 2030 by using 100% renewable energy in their processing facilities and by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
6. They promise to value all of their stakeholders equal opportunity and increased benefits to everyone who works for them.

But they don't stop there.

Dole will also be donating $10K each to help further the missions of youth activists who are working to combat food waste, plastic packaging, and food access, including Josh Williams who founded Joshua's Heart Foundation, the Angeletti siblings that started back2earth, and Melati Wijsen, the 19-year old founder of Bye Bye Plastic Bags.

The end game of The Dole Promise is simple: bring "sunshine for all." Not only will it mean more nutritious food for you, but their entire business will strive to do good for communities all around the world and the planet as a whole.

To learn more about Dole, the Dole Asia Holdings group of companies, and their goals for better nutrition and environmental sustainability, visit SunshineForAll.com