Annie's Homegrown - Organic Macaroni & Cheese Shells & Real Aged Cheddar - 6 oz. (170 g)

Annie's Homegrown Organic Shells & Real Aged Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese contains 100% real Organic Valley real cheese, with absolutely nothing artificial. Annie's farms produced this without antibiotics, synthetic hormones, or pesticides. Perhaps your noticed the Organic Valley logo on the front of this box? Yes! Annie's has partnered with a kindred company, a cooperative of organic farmers who created Organic Valley Family of Farms. What a pair! Annie's and Organic Valley - pioneer companies that have led the way for the past 20 years.

Remember when "orange" meant "artificial," and all Annie's cheese was white? Now the Organic Valley cheese in Annie's products, whether orange or white, is made from organic milk that comes from contented cows raised on totally organic pastures. And the orange color? That comes naturally from organic annatto seed. No chemical dyes, ever.

While savoring the taste of Annie's Organic Shells & Real Aged Cheddar, know that you are supporting organic family farmers who meet and often exceed regulations requiring ethical, responsible stewardship of both livestock and this fragile Earth. Powerful stuff!

About Annie
Annie has been in the food business for over twenty years and a mom and organic farmer for nearly ten. Her three roles as mom, organic grower, and "Annie" are very much intertwined. She's discovered that some of the same skills apply to both raising children and raising vegetables. With love, patience, and respect, both children and vegetables flourish. The more experience Annie gains from being a mom and organic grower, the more these two roles influence my role as "Annie."

As you know, Annie's has always relied on your thoughts and suggestions to shape their decisions. And that lead to this box...Annie's blue box. They've received hundreds of requests for a product with elbow macaroni and a milder, mellower cheese. Here it is. Annie's "true blue" version of the macaroni & cheese you may have grown up with.

GOODNESS GROWS
When your roots are in the garden, it's only natural you want to protect the planet and the community that helps you thrive. At Annie's, they believe in getting involved, giving back, and digging in! They help nourish communities by providing healthy food, promoting sustainability and supporting organizations who share their vision. Annie's values all beings and are serious global stewards. They work to make their footprint small, their generosity big and their impact on future generations positive.

GIVING BACK
Gardens are places to connect kids to real food, explore new flavors and talk about where food comes from. Annie's offers Grants for Gardens donations to community gardens, school gardens and other educational programs that connect children directly to gardening. These funds can be used to buy gardening tools, seeds or other needed supplies. Annie's also offers their delicious product to organizations and events promoting gardening and the environment through Cases for Causes.

Annie's is honored that you've let them grow with your families, and that you continue to recommend Annie's to your family, friends, and roommates. Your stories, letter, emails, drawings, photos, recipes, and suggestions inspire them every day. Keep them coming. And keep visiting Annie's website to learn more about their mission, initiatives, products, and the people who make it happen.

SUSTAINABILITY
Annie's is serious about doing good for you and all earth's inhabitants. Recycling, composting, and making smart energy choices are just a few ways they're reducing their bunny footprint. Annie's is always looking at ways to improve, and constantly working on new projects!

Packaging
Annie's chooses packaging materials that are friendly to the Earth. All of their packages are made with recycled content and vegetable based-inks, and all of them can be tossed in the recycling bin. They use post-consumer recycled materials whenever possible - for example, their boxes are made from 100% recycled paper fiber with a minimum of 35% post-consumer content.

Eco Energy
Annie's offsets their carbon footprint with NativeEnergy. Here's how it works- after determining their footprint, they provide funds to NativeEnergy, which in turn builds wind farms, methane digesters and other renewable energy projects. Annie's invites their friends everywhere to take the same proactive approach! Visit www.NativeEnergy.com to offset your travel, auto, home or business emissions by helping to build new renewable energy projects.

On the Road
When Annie's is out on the road at events, they use spoons and forks made from bioplastics, (a renewable plastic made from vegetable proteins.) Their plates and cups are made from sugar-cane waste so they're completely compostable! The EPA estimates that more than 137 BILLION disposable plates end up in landfills each year. Imagine if they could all break down instead of sticking around for generations to come?

Annie's Roots
"My three roles as mom, organic grower, and "Annie" are very much intertwined. At Annie's, we make our products with real ingredients, all found in nature - no artificial anything - and are honored that our loyal friends and customers continue to invite us to share in their family meal time." -Annie Withey

In 1989, the Annie's team created Annie's Homegrown because they loved convenient comfort food, but didn't love the fake chemical ingredients they saw in many products on grocery store shelves. Annie Withey, mac & cheese creator, also saw this as a chance to create a different kind of company - one that was (and still is!) committed to a sustainable environment. So, she set out to make a delicious, all-natural version of macaroni and cheese. And, faster than bunnies can multiply, Annie's Macaroni & Cheese became a word-of-mouth phenomenon. Annie's brand has now grown to include a whole pantry-full of items, but the same love, attention to detail and commitment to quality goes into every product.

Today, Annie lives on her certified organic farm in Connecticut with her husband and two daughters, where she grows a wide variety of vegetables and flowers for her local co-op and farmer's market. She remains the inspiration and corporate conscience for the Annie's family of products.