Square Baby Offers DTC Baby Food, PLUS Donates to Feeding America

Square Baby Offers DTC Baby Food, PLUS Donates to Feeding America

by | May 13, 2020

 

The first 1,000 days of a baby’s life are crucial for establishing growth, nutrition and palate development, and can even have an impact on their health for life. As a new parent, making sure your baby has the purest and most nourishing food may feel like a challenge. Enter: Square Baby – a meal subscription service that meets all your needs and can help combat your baby’s development of food allergies.

Square Baby, the only DTC (Door-to-Counter) baby food to offer 100% daily nutrition, is rooted in nutritional science to help reduce your baby’s allergy development. Harnessing the proven science behind introducing allergens early and often, Square Baby works with dietitians to create thoughtfully sourced, balanced meals from organic veggies, fruits, grain and proteins. Offering customizable plans and a foolproof footprint to achieving a well-rounded diet, Square Baby has a variety of meals for babies 4-12 months. Made in small batches for a better-than-homemade quality, each meal contains half the amount of sugar and double the amount of protein and healthy fats most pouches have.

All For A Good Cause

 

As if that weren’t enough, because Square Baby believes that every baby deserves good nutrition, their platform Good Feeds, donates 10 meals to Feeding America, for every post shared on social media!

In addition, Square Baby is the exclusive baby food partner for Ready Set Food! Just in time for Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 10-16th), Square Baby will be part of Ready Set Food’s launch of PreventAllergies.Org as well as inclusion in Ready Set Food’s Graduation Kit. As a notable brand vetted by leaders in the medical community, Ready Set Food will allow consumers to continue introducing allergens with Square Baby’s natural foods.

 

Words From The Co-Founder & CEO
Credit:  Katie Thomson, MS, RD | CO-Founder, CEO of Square Baby

“We designed the Square Baby “Square Meal System” making it easy to provide your baby 100% Daily Nutrition — a tailored nutrition solution for every baby. We are the ONLY fresh baby food company offering a comprehensive allergen introduction option for each of the Top 8 Allergens. As a science-based company, we are following the research and offering options like Peanut Pumpkin Pie, Coconut Shrimp Fried Rice, Almond Butter & Banana, and Salmon Mash. The research has shown that introducing babies to allergenic foods early and often can help prevent food allergies from developing by up to 80%!”

UPS, First 5 OC Lead Countywide Diaper Drive to Help Struggling Families

UPS, First 5 OC Lead Countywide Diaper Drive to Help Struggling Families

by | May 8, 2020

 

One in Three Families Struggle with diaper Affordability

May 8, 2020 (Irvine, CA) –  HomeAid Orange County, in partnership with the First 5 Orange County, announced the 13th Annual HomeAid Essentials Diaper Drive will take place starting Mother’s Day, May 10, through June 5th directly benefitting local families facing homelessness. The countywide campaign, led by Essentials Chairperson Oliver Jones of United Parcel Service (UPS), is shifting to a largely digital effort this year, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals or businesses can make online monetary donations that will be used to purchase diapers, wipes, and baby food, or they can buy diapers online from Abby & Finn, a diaper subscription company.

“In order to minimize personal contact and ensure the safety of the families we serve, we’ve pivoted to allow individuals and businesses to support this important cause online,” Jones said. “One of UPS’s strongest commitments is to support the communities we serve. The annual drive is the perfect example of our engagement.” Businesses and community groups can choose to host a collection site for donations of diapers, wipes, and baby food, but should sign up in advance on homeaidessentials.org. On June 1st arrangements will be made for pickup. 

“Now, more than ever, the pandemic is highlighting the tough choices vulnerable families must face,” said Kim Goll, president of First 5 Orange County, which has been a longtime partner of HomeAid Orange County. “The Essentials Drive gives the entire community a chance to donate essential baby items that we might take for granted, but that can give struggling parents some peace of mind.” Since the start of the drive 13 years ago, items collected annually have grown from 30,000 to over 1.2 million items. To date, over 10 million diapers, wipes and baby food have been distributed to families experiencing homelessness. Over 65,000 people experiencing homelessness in Orange County have been served through both shelters and affordable housing options developed by HomeAid Orange County since their founding in 1989.

“This is all about our community coming together to support families, especially those with young children, who are faced with the difficult decision of having to choose between food for their families or diapers,” said Gina Scott, HomeAid Orange County Executive Director. “Donating online is an easy way we can all make a difference during this pandemic that has left families experiencing homelessness struggling even more than before.” Items collected will be distributed to 16 of HomeAid’s non-profit service provider partners who operate housing and shelters developed by HomeAid Orange County. Complete information about how to donate, become a sponsor, or host a collection site, is available at www.homeaidessentials.org.

 

About HomeAid Orange County

 

HomeAid Orange County is the founding chapter of a national non-profit organization with the vision and purpose to end homelessness. Through its mission of building new lives for families and individuals experiencing homelessness through housing and community outreach, HomeAid acts as a non-profit developer of housing for non-profits that serve those experiencing homelessness. Because of HomeAid Orange County’s unique model based on in-kind donations of resources and labor, which comes as a result of the organizations founding by the Building Industry Association, each HomeAid housing development saves the recipient non-profit 30% of market rate cost or more. Since 1989, HomeAid Orange County has developed 68 different types of housing, ranging from emergency shelters to affordable housing options, for those experiencing homelessness. Tragically thousands are still in need of shelter each and every day. To help solve this social crisis, new housing developments are being planned and constructed throughout Orange County by HomeAid. For more information, please visit www.homeaidoc.org.

 

About First 5 Orange County / Children and Families Commission

 

The Children and Families Commission of Orange County oversees the allocation of funds from Proposition 10, which added a 50-cent tax on tobacco products sold in California. Funds help pay for education, health care and child development programs for children from birth to five and their families. The Commission’s goal is to ensure all children are healthy and ready to learn when they enter school. For more information, please visit www.occhildrenandfamilies.com. 

 

 

 

Dating on Lockdown Just Got Easier, Thanks to GOATdate

Dating on Lockdown Just Got Easier, Thanks to GOATdate

by | May 7, 2020

Life on lockdown has presented an astonishing number of inconveniences for many of us, but who knew that dating would be possible in the age of social distancing?  

A new to market video-first dating app, GOATdate, aims to simultaneously modernize and humanize the virtual dating experience. In a ’shelter at home’ world, the brand is primed to succeed and change the virtual dating landscape. Having just launched in late March, the GOATdate is experiencing a meteoric uptick in user-ship — seeing a 100% increase in user numbers by the week!

GOATdate’s mission is to reestablish chemistry as a prime focus of virtual dating, all while making the experience more efficient by cutting out the endless texting and awkward, ‘Do you want to FaceTime?’ Dates, and of course, that very awkward first date. 

The mobile dating industry is currently entrenched with users taking ’swiping’ actions and out-of-date photos, and even while competitors have rolled out similar video features, they’re still primarily rooted in chat and text. 

Here are key differentiators:

  • Dates timed to 5-minutes, so users have an out if they aren’t interested 

  • Cheat sheets of the user with conversation starters on the day 

  • Required video verification to minimize ‘cat fishing’ and ensure security

It couldn’t be a better time to explore dating options that keep you safe, distanced from others, yet engaged in far more genuine ways. GOATdate sounds like it could bring a new wave to the dating scene, and may be the new way for quite a while.

A Night In With FEAST: A Virtual Cook-Along for Good

A Night In With FEAST: A Virtual Cook-Along for Good

by | Apr 29, 2020

Join FEAST on May 2 for “A Night in with FEAST,” with Chefs and Friends to Raise Funds Providing Meals, Food Education, and Nutrition Programs

Virtual Cook-along with Recipes and Live Demos by Julia Sherman, Aliya LeeKong, Behzad Jamshidi, Dakota Weiss, Keri Glassman and more 

Los Angeles, CA (April 27, 2020) – FEAST, the nonprofit organization devoted to promoting health and wellness in under-resourced neighborhoods and communities through the power of healthy foods and human connection, will host their first-ever Instagram Live cook-along called “A Night in with FEAST” on Saturday, May 2, starting at 4 p.m. PDT/7 p.m. EDT.  In lieu of their annual fundraiser, FEAST’s virtual cook-along for good will feature five chefs and wellness experts preparing recipes for viewers at home.

The goal of “A Night In with FEAST” is to raise funds to continue their work with educational programming and food access as the demand for services has since increased as a direct result of COVID-19. Families living in poverty are struggling now more than ever to meet their basic needs including affordable and nutritious food. FEAST hopes to raise funds that will provide more than 20,000 lbs. of produce, $25,000 worth of food scholarships, and thousands of meals to families facing food insecurity in the coming months in Los Angeles, New York City, and beyond. 

Viewers can follow along on Instagram at the hashtag #FEASTNightIn and through the following social handles. 

The evening’s cookalong will go “live” as follows (PDT):

  • 4:00 p.m. – Redbird’s Bar Director Tobin Shea will kick-off the night with a Simple Vodka cocktail on @redbirdla

  • 4:15 p.m. – Chef & Food Activist Tom Colicchio will give a special toast on @tomcolicchio

  • 4:30 p.m. – another round of drinks with Olipop 

  • 4:45 p.m. – mocktails with Dietician and Founder of “Nutritious Life” Keri Glassman on  @keriglassman

  • 5:00 p.m. – Chief Culinary Officer Real Eats Food and TV Personality Aliya LeeKong will demo an Ethiopian-style carrot tartare appetizer on @aliyaleekong

  • 5:15 p.m. – Salad for President Cookbook Author Julia Sherman will make a tasty salad on @saladforpresident

  • 5:30 p.m. – Moosh Chef & Founder Behzad Jamshidi will demo a Mediterreanean Orzo entree on @behzj

  • 6:00 p.m. – Head Chef of Sweetfin Dakota Weiss shows us how to make a Poke Bowl on @dakotalovesbonemarrow

  • 6:30 p.m. – FEAST’s own Dana Rizer will end the evening on a sweet note with her Choco-coco Peanut Butter “Milkshake” 

Executive Director & Chief Food Enthusiast Dana Rizer says, “A simple donation of $20 can help feed a family of four. That’s why I’m really excited about this cast of chefs and wellness experts who will help us spread the word and continue our mission of empowering and educating through food.”

Supporters can donate by visiting feastforall.org/nightin/ to receive FEAST’s digital cookbook featuring the chefs’ recipes like Julia Sherman’s Red Cabbage with Pomegranate Molasses, Walnuts and Mint; Behzad Jamshidi’s Mediterranean Orzo; Egyptian Carrot Tartar from Aliya LeeKong; that will be highlighted during “A Night in with FEAST” allowing the viewer to follow along at home and emphasize one of FEAST’s core principals, education. 

Additionally, there will be a virtual marketplace where a portion of sales from partners will go towards FEAST: Atelier Saucier will donate 10% from all sales of their Les Combos table linen sets; Sweetfin will donate 10% of sales from their Santa Monica and Silver Lake locations on May 2; Simple Vodka is donating $4 for from every bottle purchased with an additional 20% off with coupon code ‘FEAST 20’; and Califia Farms is providing a 25% discount off your entire order with FEAST. 

Donations can be made by visiting feastforall.org/nightin/ or text the word FEAST to 707070. Donations will be matched by a generous FEAST donor, dollar for dollar, up to $10,000. 

About FEAST

“FEAST (Food, Education, Access, Support, Together) is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting wellness and enriching lives through the power of healthy food and human connection, serving families in need in Los Angeles and NYC. In response to the new and increasing needs in our communities as a result of COVID-19, FEAST is focusing its efforts on increasing Food Access through deliveries of fresh produce and prepared meals to families in poverty throughout LA, and by providing food scholarships to families enrolled in FEAST programs nationwide. FEAST needs help to provide more than 20,000 lbs. of produce and $25,000 worth of food scholarships and thousands of meals to families in the coming months.” – www.feastforall.org I @feast_for_all I #FEASTNightIn

Nurture Life Aids SoCal Amid Corona Virus

Nurture Life Aids SoCal Amid Corona Virus

by | Apr 28, 2020

Nurture Life, a meal delivery service for families (and amazingly great for children) has been among some of the key providers in Southern California. As our time sheltering in place is extended, families are facing the challenge of how to provide balanced meals, due to sold out delivery slots and limited grocery options. It is here, where Nurture Life answers the question: “But what if we didn’t have to sacrifice balanced meals for convenience, especially now?”

An alternative to grocery stores, Nurture Life is a DTC meal service that works hand in hand with RD’s and chefs to meet the nutritional requirements for kids at every stage. Fresh, never frozen, veggie-forward meals, Nurture Life has a variety of seriously healthy dishes for babies (10months – 24 months), toddlers (1-4 years), Kids (5-10 years), Kids (11-18 years) and even family meals! No gimmicks, no antibiotics and shipping US-wide, Nurture Life’s passion is to raise the standard for nutrition in America – so you know you can trust these dishes will be as thoughtful of your family’s nutrition as you would be. Since Nurture Life knows this is a stressful time, they are currently offering 25% off the first two orders, with the code BESTKIDSMEALS, to help ease any burden, in addition to giveback efforts like Hard Working Heroes.

Words From The Co-Founder, Jennifer Chow

“Today’s parents are busier than ever but don’t want to compromise when it comes to feeding their children. We created Nurture Life to help parents feed their families fresh, nutritionally balanced meals focused on organic produce, antibiotic free meats and whole grains, without having to do all the planning, shopping, prepping and cooking themselves. With Nurture Life, we also set out to tackle one of our country’s biggest challenges – the way our children eat. If we can teach our children that vegetables, whole grains and a variety of proteins are normal and delicious at the beginning of their eating journey, we can set them up for increased food acceptance which encourages healthy eating for the rest of their lives.” 

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