Since Evolution Fresh™ was founded in 1980, everything we’ve done has been driven by a deep respect for all the deliciousness that nature has to offer us. In fact, we’re just as passionate about growing our greens as we are about enjoying them. In this spirit, we started a journey several years ago to better our sourcing with sustainably-cut spinach.
Sustainably-cut spinach is what grows after the first crop of spinach is harvested. The first crop that’s harvested is the baby spinach you see in plastic bags at the grocery store. After the spinach is cut, it leaves behind roots that more spinach can grow from, much like how grass can regrow after being mowed. This second crop of spinach that grows from these roots sometimes has superficial imperfections from the first harvest like cuts and nicks, so farmers often choose to plow the field and start over. By harvesting this second crop of spinach, we can save resources, help farmers and still get the same deliciousness into our juice.
Right away, sustainably-cut spinach starts saving resources. By allowing the existing spinach roots to grow a second crop, 2 to 5 million seeds per acre and 20 hours of extra tractor time are saved immediately. As it grows, sustainably-cut spinach uses 20% to 60% less water—vital in California, where our spinach is grown. After harvest, this green goodness comes to us in nice and cozy bushels instead of plastic bags like the baby spinach from the first crop, saving transportation fuel and packaging.
Using sustainably-cut spinach does more than make the Earth happy—it makes the farmers we work with happy, too. Brian Jameson, our vp of Agriculture Operations and Business Development, says the benefits for farmers have been very positive. “The real magic in harvesting a second crop is from a cost perspective; farmers can harvest up to three times the amount of pounds off each acre, which can increase their revenue.”
Of course, we also wanted to make sure sustainably-cut spinach was a positive choice for our juice. That’s the awesome thing about sustainably-cut spinach: it’s just as naturally delicious and nutritious as the baby spinach from the first crop, proving once again that it’s what’s on the inside that matters.
Sustainably-cut spinach helps us save natural resources and works better for our farmers’ business operations, and you get the same tasty, nutritious goodness in your juice: it’s a win-win-win! It’s been so beneficial that we’re now using the same process for our kale and parsley and are exploring ways we can better source other ingredients like romaine and citrus.
Every time you open a bottle of Evolution Fresh, you can do so knowing that our juice is making a positive impact on the environment from the ground up.
