If your house is anything like mine your grocery bill seems to be just a wee bit bigger in the summer than any other time of year. Long summer days mean more kids in the pool, friends lingering longer over the cup of coffee or cocktail, and blessed vacations at the cottage. This also means we take advantage of every opportunity to eat outside and use that BBQ. Grocery lists now include lots more fresh fruit, bags of chips and of course the biggest summer request of all time – hotdogs for the win! I’ve always been the Mama who believes in everything in moderation, so always popped the hotdogs into my cart and included them as part of our summer diet, but after hearing big news from Maple Leaf Foods I’m even happier to serve hotdogs as requested to my hungry family. Here’s why.
At a recent event at Maple Leaf Foods Headquarters in Mississauga Ontario, I had the distinct pleasure of listening to CEO of Maple Leaf Foods Michael McCain speak to the sweeping changes that are coming to this big brand. For 18 months his dedicated staff worked on creating a new direction, a new manifesto for Maple Leaf Foods – and it’s remarkable. It reads like this:
MAPLE LEAF MANIFESTO
- We make real food from simple ingredients you can pronounce.
- We believe high-quality protein is the foundation for healthy, growing bodies, so we prepare simple, delicious protein to nourish Canadian families.
- We only use our premium meats and just the right amount of salt.
- We declare all ingredients and nutritional information prominently on the package, so you can read it.
- We only use natural ingredients. When consumers want an ingredient not regulated as natural, we promise only to use a real and simple alternative, and we will highlight it.
- We use NO artificial preservatives, NO artificial flavours, NO artificial colours, NO artificial sweeteners, and NO animal by-products.
- And, we go beyond what’s in our food.
- We minimize our impact on air, water and land, and we advance food security, so all families can eat well.
- Making good food accessible to all Canadians.
- That’s what the real food movement means to us.
- We’re for real.
You read that right – ingredient names you can pronounce. Have you seen this commercial?
Not only is Maple Leaf Foods now living by this manifesto, but they are putting the environment and children who are food insecure in the forefront.
- They plan to have a 50% reduction in their environmental footprint by the year 2025. They plan to achieve this by reducing their water utilization, energy, and their greenhouse gas emissions. Their vision would see them as being the most sustainable protein company in the world.
- It’s a fact that 1 in 10 children are food insecure. Maple Leaf Foods has committed 10 million over the next 5 years to a charity to help reduce food insecurity.
These awards and commitments are ones Maple Leaf Foods will stand behind and use as the guiding principals for their company going forward. Hearing CEO Michael McCain, Consumer Marketing Manager Lenka McGregor, Director Violet Baker, and Managers Elizabeth Verdone and David Alexander speaking with incredible pride about their products and the premium natural ingredients used to create them made me feel confident as both a consumer and a Mother that these are the products I want to be purchasing for my family. When I go shopping each and every week this summer and from now on for the ever popular Hot Dog (and beyond) -I will be buying Maple Leaf Foods.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. In exchange for this post, I have received perks in the form of products and/or compensation. All opinions on this blog are my own.
My grocery bill always goes up at least 25% in July and August!
I love Maple Leaf products especially their bacon and hotdogs
Very good to know didn’t know many things about maple leaf.. nice!
I love Maple Leaf products and am so happy at their future direction.
I find we are the opposite and our grocery bill drops quite a bit in the summer months. Produce around me is just so much cheaper.
Maple Leaf has always been our top brand for hot dogs, bacon & lunchmeat. The brand just keeps improving & I love to see how they are committed to helping the environment, too. Awesome!
I buy Maple Leaf brand.
Great choice!
I really like Maple Leaf Food Manifesto! I don’t eat much process food because it contain so much sodium. I was please to see that Maple Leaf Food Manifesto bacon as the lower sodium option.
Isn’t that amazing! (and um an excuse to have bacon a little more often) 🙂
I’m glad to hear about the new manifesto. My family loves Maple Leaf Hot Dogs!
Me too! It makes me feel better about my regular purchase of hotdogs for my kiddos 🙂
That Maple Leaf manifesto is serious business!
It really is! Something to be proud of for sure.
I have never heard of this company before today. Sounds like a great place to shop!
You can find Maple Leaf Foods in most major grocery stores. I hope you will give them a try!
Their bacon is fantastic. One of my favorites.
It really is! Oh, and now I want bacon. LOL
I find I eat more in the summer but more on the healthy side and bbq items. The grocery bill is a little more.
I find the same thing! Especially as it seems we entertain more often in the summer 🙂
That’s just perfect,Maple Leaf Foods are the best!
Now better than ever!
Yes and I am so looking forward to trying them again,I have many stomach problems when I eat processed foods maybe now I can start eating their products again !
I suffer from migraines so have to be so careful about what I eat. I’m thrilled with these changes and now always reach for Maple Leaf Foods!
I am glad this company is doing this to make food safer to eat.
I completely agree. Maple Leaf Foods new manifesto has made it so I’m always looking for their products first!