How to Survive Life in the Suburbs

My Grocery List Has Changed – Thanks To Maple Leaf Foods

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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?

https://youtu.be/Im5EtWeUDV0

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.

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    • Comments

    1. loving this idea. II am a vegetarian but my son is a meatatarian lol . I already buy Maple Leaf but this makes it so much better.

      • LOL My Husband is a meatatarian too! All the more reason to buy Maple Leaf Foods!

    3. Maple Leaf products are certainly a staple in our house. We love their great taste and quality. Knowing that there are NO artificial preservatives, NO artificial flavours, NO artificial colours, NO artificial sweeteners, and NO animal by-products is a bonus and that they are there to help the environment only add to the incentive to love them even more! I give them two thumbs up! Thanks for all you do Maple Leaf. 🙂

      • Yes, yes, YES! A company doing it right and making it easier to buy better. Thank you Maple Leaf Foods!

    5. It’s nice to see big companies stepping up to make a difference. Kids shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not they will have something to eat.

      • I completely agree. It makes you feel good about spending your money on Maple Leaf Foods products.

    7. This is amazing to hear! My daughters have such a hot dog obsession but many companies shove so much crap into them

      • You are so right! It’s so important to b able read all the ingredients on that label. Maple Leaf Foods is doing it right.

      • I’m with you there! Somehow grocery shopping in the summer is so much easier 🙂

    14. I’m a big label reader and this really does make grocery shopping a lot easier.

      • SInce having kids I’ve become quite vigilant about those labels, Maple Leaf Foods has made my job so much easier!

    15. This is great to see from Maple Leaf Foods. Their products certainly are a staple of our summer BBQs!

      • Such an incredible initiative. I’m happy to keep putting Maple Leaf Foods in my grocery cart 🙂