Revolution Foods, Inc. at 8393 Capwell Drive, Oakland, California.

I first became aware of Revolutions Foods and the true quality of their offerings once my child started public school. As a busy working parent I would gladly take the option of an on-site school lunch over the precious extra time it takes me to prepare and pack a lunch from home. However, if I couldn’t bring myself to take a bite of what Revolutions Foods puts out because of what I consider highly problematic ingredients and packaging - even for someone who does not have any allergies or food sensitivities - then I certainly wouldn’t want to have my child eating what resembles low-budget airplane food on a daily basis. And yet my child is not immune because even though we opt out of the school lunch, Revolutions Foods still makes child-appealing packaged snacks like these graham crackers available to all kids up to twice a day - once at school during recess and again if your child happens to attend an after school program through the city’s Parks and Rec like mine does.
What really upsets me, however, is that through the ingenious way they word their mission statement, Revolutions Foods cleverly tries to market their offerings as extraordinarily healthy. They even going so far as to trademark their food philosophy of “Feeding Good”, which they do not define, yet it is their “promise to you” - whatever that may be. They say that they “believe that everyone deserves access to high quality food.” They say they "believe in food that tastes good, food that promotes growth and development.” That they “stand for food you can feel good about.” Well sure, I’m glad they believe in and stand for such noble sentiments as do all concerned, health-conscious parents. But all you have to do is take one look at the ingredients in their packaged graham crackers to know that what they believe in is not the same as saying that’s what they’re actually offering. Their “carefully considered ingredients” do indeed lack artificial colors, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup, but that doesn’t mean they don’t allow the wholesale use of sugar and GMO ingredients with abandon. Does a 1 oz. single serving bag of cookies really need to have 8 grams, or the equivalent of 2 teaspoons of sugar? And when this is given to kids at recess how is it helpful for them to go back into their classrooms fueled by a sugar rush? They say that they “focus on fresh, clean label ingredients with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables.” But when you see the meal trays in the schools, the fruit consists of one perfect-looking, prosaic Red Delicious apple (the tasteless supermarket variety available thanks to copious amounts of pesticides) and a few plain raw “baby” carrots. Their commitment “to sourcing the highest quality ingredients” notwithstanding, the reality is a far cry from anything out of Alice Waters’ edible schoolyard vision. And maybe what Revolutions Foods offers does successfully get kids to eat (after all, it’s hard for any young child to resist the call of a cute package of sugary cookies), but worse than children eating this processed fare from the most cheaply-sourced ingredients is perhaps seeing much of the content on those meals trays - along with all the endless individual packaging - ending up in the trash.