Simply Organic's S01% fund makes impact in organic agriculture

A fund created by Simply Organic to support organic agriculture by diverting 1 percent of net sales has had a big impact as the brand celebrated its 10th anniversary this week, the company said.

Simply Organic surpassed the $500,000 contribution mark through a recent donation to the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service from the S01% fund, the company announced Tuesday, August 9.

"The S01% Fund is having a remarkable impact both domestically and internationally," Simply Organic Senior Brand Manager Kory Kazimour said.

The fund supports sutainable farming apprenticeship programs, training on organic agricultural practices for farmers in India and Sril Lanka, and advocacy efforts for organic farming research in Washington, D.C., Kazimour added.

The S01% Fund donated nearly $30,000 in 2009 to provide organic agricultural training to 790 farmers living in the mountainous regions of southwest India. The fund also funded a scholarship in perpetuity at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems apprenticeship program.

The most recent donation of $10,000 whent to Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service, which attracted more than 2,600 farmers, advocates, educators and community members to its latest educational conference in February.

Simply Organic is an all-organic line of products from Frontier Natural Products Co-op in Norway.