Saffron Road Surpasses $10,000 in Donations to Whole Planet Foundation® Joins Nonprofit’s Ten Thousand Dollar Fund®
Stamford, CT – July 6, 2013 – Saffron Road™, the premium packaged food brand of American Halal Co., is pleased to announce that it has joined a select group of companies that have donated more than $10,000 to Whole Planet Foundation to help fund poverty alleviation around the globe. Whole Planet Foundation’s mission is to help end poverty worldwide by funding microlending programs in the U.S. and developing world communities that supply Whole Foods Market stores with product.
Saffron Road’s donations are a result of Saffron Road’s socially responsible business model which promotes a “triple bottom line”-- in this case, giving back a percentage of sales to a worthy organization like Whole Planet Foundation. The company’s contribution will help fund the Foundation’s purpose to provide impoverished entrepreneurs in poor communities around the world microcredit. Microcredit is small loans – usually less than $300 – requiring no contract or collateral, that enable an entrepreneur with the opportunity to create or expand a home-based business and the chance to lift herself and her family out of poverty.
“From the inception of Saffron Road, we have remained die-hard supporters and long-term partners of Whole Planet Foundation,” said Adnan Durrani, CEO of American Halal / Saffron Road. “To date, we are proud to have improved the lives of hundreds of people in developing countries around the world. Surpassing donations of $10,000 to Whole Planet Foundation will have significant impact in uplifting very poor entrepreneurs and providing significant upward opportunities for individuals in impoverished communities. We are very excited to further deepen our partnership with both Whole Planet Foundation and Whole Foods Market. Our remarkable sales success at Whole Foods Market is directly linked to our mission of ethical consumerism and especially Whole Foods Market’s consumers who are voting with their dollars to support mission-based enterprises like Saffron Road. Whole Planet Foundation is core to our belief system in a healthier planet, a more sustainable food system, and our motivation of giving back to those less fortunate.”
In 2005, Whole Foods Market established Whole Planet Foundation as an expansion of its mission to be an active participant in the global community. The foundation was formed in partnership with Professor Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank, co-recipients of 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Through trusted microfinance organizations worldwide, Whole Planet Foundation is reaching microentrepreneurs who can change their own lives through their own hard work and creativity.
“Through their generous support, Saffron Road has helped to provide more than 60 poor entrepreneurs – most of whom are women – with an opportunity to get ahead: to start her own business, create a steady stream of income and have the chance to lift herself and her family out of poverty,” said Philip Sansone, president and executive director of Whole Planet Foundation. “We’re grateful to work with partners who are committed to supporting microentrepreneurs around the globe.”
For more about Saffron Road, please visit: saffronroadfood.com.
To donate to Whole Planet Foundation, learn more about the nonprofit, or for stories from microcredit loan recipients, visit: www.wholeplanetfoundation.org or read the Whole Story blog at: www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog.
American Halal Co. markets all natural premium packaged food under the Saffron Road brand. Adnan Durrani, the CEO, and Jack Acree, the EVP, are serial entrepreneurs having been involved in companies like Vermont Pure Spring Water, Stonyfield Farms, Inc., Alexia Foods, and Terra Chips. The Company’s management and Board represent a team of proven entrepreneurs at building premium food brands. Saffron Road’s mission is to offer All Natural Halal Certified and Gluten Free foods, which are also holistic, sustainably farmed, and antibiotic free. Saffron Road’s products are sourced from livestock which is fed only 100% vegetarian feed and are humanely treated. The Company seeks to bring its mission to a higher awakening with the local and global community, embodying a socially conscious company ethic as well as setting the standard for premium quality Halal Cuisine.
Media Contact: Laura Giannatempo, RF Binder, 212-994-7543, laura.giannatempo@rfbinder.com
For more information about Saffron Road, please visit saffronroadfood.com. You can also join us on Facebook at facebook.com/saffronroadfood, on Twitter at twitter.com/saffronroadfood or on Pinterest at pinterest.com/saffronroadfood.
About Whole Planet Foundation®
Founded in 2005, Whole Planet Foundation is a Whole Foods Market foundation that funds poverty alleviation worldwide where the company sources products. The nonprofit’s mission is to empower the poor living in developing-world communities with microcredit and the chance to create or expand a home-based business and lift themselves and their families out of poverty. As of May 2013, Whole Planet Foundation is funding microlending programs through microfinance institution partners in the U.S. and across 56 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, supporting more than 1.6 million people with a chance for a better life. To date, the nonprofit has authorized more than $37 million and disbursed $24 million through microlending partners worldwide. Learn more and donate online at wholeplanetfoundation.org.
