Vitamin Cottage was Pines' First Customer in 1977
In 1977, using a program similar to Amway, Steve and Ron, co-founders of Pines, used a multi-level program for Pines Wheat Grass. After several weeks, they had sold only six bottles. On a whim they stopped into the Vitamin Cottage, a health food store in Lakewood, Colorado. There they met Margaret Isely, who with her husband, Phillip, owned the store. When Steve and Ron told Margaret that they saw Pines a means to support the planet, Margaret’s face lit up. She told them about some of the causes for the planet that she and her husband supported. Steve and Ron had found a kindred spirit.
Steve and Ron in 1976 at the First Office in Hays, Kansas, just before they traveled to Colorado and met Margaret Isely[/caption] In less than ten minutes, the co-founders of Pines had sold 24 bottles to Vitamin Cottage. That was four times more than they had sold in the previous two weeks. From that moment on, they scrapped their pyjrt plans in favor of a market through health food stores. Margaret not only purchased 24 bottles of Pines Wheat Grass for the store, she spent most of the rest of the day telling Steve and Ron all they needed to know about the natural food market. She explained how things worked and gave them pointers on how to ensure that Pines Wheat Grass would be on the shelves of natural food stores across the USA. She also urged them to attend the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) trade show. At that time the NNFA, which represented all the health food stores and brands, held its yearly meeting at the same time as the trade show.
PINES is the only 100% organic and vegan-friendly producer of whole food wheatgrass and alfalfa powder in the natural food marketplace. Sincerely committed to the planet, we package in oxygen-free glass bottles, NEVER plastic.[/caption]
Vitamin Cottage: First Natural Food Store to Carry Pines
Steve and Ron in 1976 at the First Office in Hays, Kansas, just before they traveled to Colorado and met Margaret Isely[/caption] In less than ten minutes, the co-founders of Pines had sold 24 bottles to Vitamin Cottage. That was four times more than they had sold in the previous two weeks. From that moment on, they scrapped their pyjrt plans in favor of a market through health food stores. Margaret not only purchased 24 bottles of Pines Wheat Grass for the store, she spent most of the rest of the day telling Steve and Ron all they needed to know about the natural food market. She explained how things worked and gave them pointers on how to ensure that Pines Wheat Grass would be on the shelves of natural food stores across the USA. She also urged them to attend the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) trade show. At that time the NNFA, which represented all the health food stores and brands, held its yearly meeting at the same time as the trade show.
We Followed Her Advice
As Margaret suggested, Steve and Ron started attending the annual NNFA shows. A few years later, the natural food market elected Margaret as the National President. Even with all her she did during those annual meetings, she always stopped by Pines’ booth and gave Steve and Ron advice.Pioneers in Health Food
Margaret and Phillip were pioneers. Their vision for the natural foods is now reality. Even though it was nearly 40 years ago when Steve and Ron first met Margaret Isely, she and Phillip had already been teaching health and promoting natural foods for more than 20 years. Now, nearly 60 years since the Isleys developed their vision, their children are carrying forward their vision for improving the nation's health through wholesome natural foods.Natural Grocers / Vitamin Cottage Wants You to be Healthy
As a result of Centers for Disease Control studies, the USDA developed MyPlate to show that vegetables should be the most important food in our diets. CDC research indicates vegetables help protect us from degenerative disease. Their research indicates those diseases can result from too much processed foods and not enough dark green vegetables. All Pines' green superfoods, including Green Duo, are economical and convenient ways to increase your dark green, leafy vegetable nutrition. You will find Pines nutrient dense vegetable powders at Natural Grocers and other stores on our locator.
The Isely's Founding Principles
Every Natural Grocers / Vitamin Cottage follows Margaret's Founding Principles:
Vitamin Cottage Prefers Earth-Friendly Bottles
Pines is the only green superfood company in the natural food market to package in earth-friendly amber glass bottles with special metal caps that allow us to remove the oxygen. This safeguard prevents the loss of color and food value that occurs with plastic bottles. Further, fossil fuel used to make the plastic may contaminate the contents. Unfortunately, it is not easy for any natural food store to avoid carrying products packaged in plastic. Even so, Natural Grocers makes a strong effort to provide a glass bottle alternative for every kind of product they sell.
PINES is the only 100% organic and vegan-friendly producer of whole food wheatgrass and alfalfa powder in the natural food marketplace. Sincerely committed to the planet, we package in oxygen-free glass bottles, NEVER plastic.[/caption]The ONLY Non-GMO Project Verified Alfalfa Powder
Natural Grocers / Vitamin Cottage shares Pines' strong commitment to the planet. Like Pines, Natural Grocers opposes GMOs. They do not carry products with GMO ingredients.
Pines is the only 100% organic grower of whole food wheatgrass and alfalfa powders in Kansas. We do not practice "dual farming" where a farmer grows both organic and non-organic crops. The other grower in Kansas produce organic for only a few weeks a year. Then they return to poison-based farming for the rest of the year. Pines only grows is organic, gluten free, Kosher and non-gmo human foods. Our alfalfa is the only one for humans that is verified by the Non-GMO Project.
Good for Your Body and the Planet
At Pines, we do it all, from planting the seed to filling the bottles. In fact, our bottling and shipping building is right across the road from one of our fields! Because of our quality, Delicious Living recognized Pines' Green Superfoods with the 2017 Supplement Award.
We Don't Water Pines' Green Superfoods
We grow our wheatgrass and alfalfa in appropriate climates and locations that do not require irrigation. Pines is the only Kansas grower of green superfoods for the natural food market that does not use ground water. Because our fields receive plenty of natural rainfall, they do not need irrigation. By contrast, the other Kansas grower must water their wheatgrass and alfalfa because of their location in dry parts of Kansas.
This other grower has used irrigation to grow pesticide-based animal feed, mostly for the meat industry, during more than 70 years. These and abuses by other dry land farmers of this once-pristine fresh water resource have poisoned and are drying it up. It took tens of thousands of years to accumulate that water. In less than 100 years, farmers poisoned and wasted it. This poison-based alfalfa grower, who also grows "organic" greens for the natural food market, has helped deplete and contaminate the fossil water of the Ogallala Aquifer. Besides severe depletion, many wells test positive for the Atrazine poison. Besides being the only 100% organic grower of whole food wheatgrass powder in Kansas, we are also the only one not to use ground water.
Support 100% Organic by Sincere Organic Family Farmers
We hope you will support our 40-year relationship with Natural Grocers and our shared commitment to organic farming. For more information on how Pines worked to improve our planet, please follow this link.