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[passion x purpose]

This month students in our sweetgreen in schools program are learning about what it means to be a “defender of wellness.” Defenders of wellness eat well, maintain an active lifestyle, and share tips with family and friends on how to eat and live healthfully.  Check out the graphic above for tips on how you can be a defender of wellness and spread the health.

Need a new activity to do with your friends? Sign up for sweetgreen passport to receive exclusive access to fitness classes around your city. Or, start a supper club and cook your way through delicious and healthful recipes like crispy kale.  

For more recipes and healthy lifestyle tips, stay tuned here on Tumblr and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. 

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Did you know that on a typical day, 32 million children in the U.S. eat cafeteria food? Or that most of these students consume over half of their daily calories at school?

Facts like these motivate us to connect kids to real food, and teach them how to make healthy choices through our sweetgreen in schools program. School cafeterias are one of the biggest areas of opportunity that exist in the battle against childhood obesity. 

Recently there has been discussion about what constitutes a quality lunch, so we took a look at examples of typical school meals around the world, and how our own country stacks up. These representations are not intended to critique any existing programs, but instead are intended to show the possibilities of well-balanced meals around the world, and how much opportunity exists in our own backyard.  To create this series, we looked at photos that real students had taken of their meals and shared online, as well as research done about other school lunch programs. 

If you’re interested in even more information, please check out the article and website below:

• What’s for Lunch
• World Food Programme

Surprised at what you see above? You can help us make an impact and change the way future generations eat! Help support our sweetgreen in schools program by donating to FoodCorps to connect kids to real food.

Italy

Local fish on a bed of arugula, pasta with tomato sauce, caprese salad, baguette and some grapes

Finland

Pea soup, beet salad, carrot salad, bread and pannakkau       (dessert pancake) with fresh berries 

France

Steak, carrots, green beans, cheese and fresh fruit

Brazil

Pork with mixed veggies, black beans and rice, salad, bread and baked plantains

South Korea

Fish soup, tofu over rice, kimchi and fresh veggies

Greece

Baked chicken over orzo, stuffed grape leaves, tomato and cucumber salad, fresh oranges, and greek yogurt with pomegranate seeds

Ukraine

Mashed potatoes with sausage, borscht, cabbage and syrniki (a dessert pancake)

Spain

Sautéed shrimp over brown rice and vegetables, gazpacho, fresh peppers, bread and an orange

USA

Fried ‘popcorn’ chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, fruit cup and a chocolate chip cookie

Note: These images are not intended to be exact representations of school lunches, but instead, are meant to portray different types of foods found in cafeterias around the world. To create this series, we evaluated government standards for school lunch programs, regional cuisine and food culture, and photos that real students had taken of their meals and shared online. Have photos of the food you or your kids are eating at school? Share them with us @sweetgreen!

This post was updated on 2/28/15. Photography by sweetgreen.

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Dear sweetgreen family,

Today sweetgreen is seven years, three months and 18 days old. We have 27 restaurants in four cities. We have over 1000 team members.  We have a west coast expansion underway.

We have momentum.

We are proud to announce an additional financing round of $18.5M led by Steve Case’s Revolution Growth. This is the second round of funding we have raised from Revolution, a firm that invests in companies and entrepreneurs that they believe can change the world. Their support and mentorship will provide the fuel for meaningful long-term investments in our brand – and, together, we will create value by investing in our values.

As sweetgreen grows from a regional to national lifestyle brand, we will continue to differentiate ourselves with unmatched dedication to innovation and social responsibility. We will continue to spread the sweetlife, bringing passion and purpose to everything we do.

This capital raise is an opportunity to devote increased attention and resources to four core areas of our business: our sustainable supply chain, our philanthropic organization sweetgreen in schools, technological innovations focused on elevating the customer experience, and our team and company culture.

1.  Seasonal menu and supply chain

The words “seasonal" and “fast-food” are rarely used together, but at sweetgreen, we believe that the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive – it just takes a commitment to standing behind our food ethos and working harder. This means working with farmers that share the same values. This means investing in both people and in supply chain systems. This means understanding that our customers appreciate the transparency of food regardless of the occasion.

We, along with our partners, have challenged ourselves to redefine and disrupt traditional fast food by bringing our customers closer to where real food comes from.

2.  sweetgreen in schools

In 2010, we launched sweetgreen in schools. The mission was simple: to teach kids about the importance of healthy eating while making it fun. The program, originally run by an intern at one restaurant with a small group of 4th graders, has grown to reach over 3000 students across 14 different locations. More than an experimental passion project, sweetgreen in schools is a top priority of the company  – and the three of us personally – and we are excited to be able to introduce it to each of our communities.

3.  Technology and innovation

Staying ahead of the technology curve is a perpetual and maniacal focus at sweetgreen. We strive to integrate the digital and physical worlds, to elevate the customer experience and to make seasonal eating more convenient and accessible.

In 2013, we launched our mobile payment and rewards app, which now accounts for up to 25% of transactions company-wide. This year, we are piloting a new, mobile-optimized online ordering system that provides a frictionless ordering and pickup experience.

All of this is just the beginning.

4.  People and culture

Our people and culture are our greatest assets and the driving force behind our success and momentum. Our culture is vibrant, authentic, value-driven and something that cannot be imitated. As we continue to bring sweetgreen to new communities throughout the country, we plan on doubling down on our investment in our team. At the end of the day, it is our people who will determine our speed of growth and success as a brand.

If you’re reading this as a team member, thank you for helping us get to where we are today. One of Steve Case’s favorite quotes is “vision without execution is hallucination.” We can’t make this vision a reality without you. Together, we can change the way people eat. Together, we can change the way people live. Together, we can have a positive impact on the world.

If you are not yet a part of sweetgreen’s team but share our excitement, we invite you to drop us a line at careers@sweetgreen.com and join us on this adventure. We are constantly looking for new recruits who share our passion for purpose. As founders, every day we feel the same enthusiasm we felt over seven years ago, and nothing is more gratifying than finding others who believe in our mission.  

To our loyal friends and guests: thank you for believing in and standing behind us over the years. Thank you for keeping it real and sharing your thoughts. As always, we encourage you to tweet us @sweetgreen or send us a note at vip@sweetgreen.com with anything that’s on your mind.

Best,

Nathaniel, Nicolas, Jonathan

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This December, students in our sweetgreen in schools program will be learning about the importance of eating locally and seasonally.

Sourcing seasonal produce from farmers we know has always been an essential part of our mission. Check out the infographic above to learn some fun facts about seasonal produce, and watch our meet the farmer video series to find out more about where your food comes from.

For more updates on our seasonal offerings, follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. 

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When we first started our sweetgreen in schools program, we dreamt about being able to teach children across all of our communities about healthy eating, nutrition, and sustainability. Today, we are excited to announce that we are partnering with FoodCorps to help make this dream a reality!

FoodCorps is a national nonprofit service organization that shares our goal of educating children about healthy eating and where their food comes from. By joining forces, we will be able to bring sweetgreen in schools with us wherever we go.

This partnership also means that FoodCorps will become our official charity partner for 2014 - 2015 and receive 1% of all purchases made with the sweetgreen rewards app. Similarly, we will work with FoodCorps to select a ‘pay what you want’ local beneficiary to receive 100% of proceeds from opening day at all future sweetgreen locations.

Thank you to all of our friends, family, and guests for supporting our sweetgreen in schools initiative over the years. We are excited about this next chapter and can’t wait to share more good news with everyone as the program expands!

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From our annual sweetlife festival to our love of veggie rap puns to the playlists we curate in our stores, music is part of sweetgreen’s DNA. As this infographic shows, it even plays a role in our sweetgreen in schools curriculum! 

This month, in addition to teaching students about the health benefits of music, we challenged them to create a rap about what they have learned so far. See a few of our favorite lyrics below and feel free to share your own. Who knows – the best lines might even become our next t-shirt design!

“Healthy plants help us grow,

fruits and veggies help our brains know

the stems, roots, and leaves are part of a flower

when you eat fruits you gain lots of power.”

“Composting helps the land

so give the earth a helping hand

recycling helps us make new things

healthy soil makes earthworms sing

run across the ground and sow

to help us make things grow.”

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Our sweetgreen in schools curriculum extends beyond the basics of healthy eating and nutrition. Our program also teaches local students how to protect the environment and the communities that they live in.

This month’s lesson was about composting, which is a process of turning unused food and materials into nutrient-rich soil. Last year, in collaboration with our partner Fat Worm, sweetgreen composted over 340,000 pounds of leftover food, kitchen waste, and used utensils!

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Can you make a healthier salad than a fourth grader? 

To kick off the new year, we challenged students in our sweetgreen in schools program to use local produce to create a nutritious salad that was seasonal, colorful, and healthful. Check out the infographic above for some inspiration and tips adapted from our sweetgreen in schools curriculum!

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As our name suggests, we love our greens - but we’re also big fans of other colored fruits and vegetables. A food’s color often indicates the types of nutrients and vitamins that are found inside. To ensure a balanced, nutrient-rich diet, it’s best to “eat the rainbow” and fill your plate (or bowl) with as many colors as possible!

For the past 3 years, sweetgreen has collaborated with the DC Farm to School Network to provide interactive classes about healthy eating to elementary school children in the DC public school system. The sweetgreen in schools program gives students an opportunity to learn about where their food comes from, and helps them make informed decisions about the food they eat.  Each month we will share the key takeaways from our lesson plans because healthy eating isn’t just for kids!