At Country Choice Organic, we work hard to minimize our operational “footprint”, constantly reviewing our packaging materials, transportation, and warehousing to make sure we only use what is necessary to deliver the freshest, best tasting organic products.
Our parent company, Grain Millers, the largest miller of organic grain in North America, shares this concern and has developed a novel way to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and help the local community. In partnership with the local school district and private enterprise, Grain Millers donates oat hulls to heat a middle school in St. Ansgar, IA., home of one of Grain Millers largest oat mills.
This is the first school in Iowa to be heated with biomass energy, which replaces the natural gas previously used to fuel the school’s boilers. “We use biomass in our facilities to replace fossil fuel consumption with renewable energy sources,” says Steve Eilertson, Grain Miller president. “Extending the opportunity to our local community partners lets us broaden our impact.”
So next time you sit down to a hot bowl of Country Choice Organic oatmeal, your breakfast might be fueling more than you. It might be sustainably heating a classroom in Iowa, which is a warm thought to start the day.
Read more about heating St. Ansgar Middle School here.
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