Your favorite pretzel is going green!

By Megan Kelley

I had the pleasure of speaking with folks at the corporate Auntie Anne’s about their green initiative. It is an incredible accomplishment to see what they have become considering they started as a stand in a local farmers market a little over 20 years ago. They now have over 1,000 stores in the world, in several different countries. A local farmers market to a store in Japan; the possibilities are endless.

It’s also pretty cool that a company that started so small, grew to be a huge corporation, yet still finds ways to be more green in their own local environment.  They have stayed so grounded and they have not forgotten about their roots. Even though they are massively famous throughout the world, they still care about Lancaster County, PA.

As an employee at the local Auntie Anne’s, I have seen some of their initiatives enacted. My favorite of all is their Food Harvesting program. It is through the Food Donation Connection and it started with a corporate employee who sat next to someone at a conference.

Instead of throwing out pretzels at the end of half an hour, (that is their freshness guarantee for in store pretzels) they bag the pretzels up, label and date them and then put them in a refrigerator. A few days a week, local charities come by and **distribute the pretzels** to people who are less fortunate.

Pretty cool huh?

Going Green at Annie Anne\’s