Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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squares, rounds, and rectangles, icing mix, and a piping bag. Consumers can affix the cook- ies to the box itself to create a gingerbread house. "We enjoy working togeth- er—you can see results. It's not just about giving money. We're participating and improving lives," says Stanton. Dancing Deer also sponsors One Family's graduation event, an annual cocktail reception-fundraiser that celebrates the One Family scholars who earned college degrees this year. Twenty of the bakery's staffers attended the celebration in May. Spreading the Word… Exposure for the program has grown as Dancing Deer's online customer base has increased. "When we started, e-commerce was a small niche," Stanton says. But as technology became a big- ger part of business, it became easier to get the word out about the project. "As we got into social media, the program grew," she adds, not- ing the company has more than 1,200 followers on Facebook and 750 on Twitter. Dancing Deer also shares information about the Sweet Home Project in its holiday catalog and the partnership between One Family and Sweet Home in customer emails that go out around the holidays. But the best way to tell the story, Stanton says, remains the storybook that comes with the house cookie, which every gift recipient receives. A Sustainability-Minded Company… "We're a pretty small business and all of us are proud of our sustainable nature and our relationship with One Family," Stanton says. The company aims to buy local ingredients whenever possible and recently had its plant non-GMO certified, along with launching its first non-GMO line of cookies. "We also make every effort that all packaging is from recycled products and can be recycled, and we recycle all of our non- food waste in the plant." The business is currently looking into how to compost and/ or work with companies who take the food waste, but already 90 to 95 percent of waste is recycled, she notes. In addition, sun panels provide 75 percent of the plant's power; soy-based inks are used for printing; and Dancing Deer sources much of its packaging from a wind-powered facility. "We are and have been conscious of our car- bon footprint for 20 years," Stanton says. Keeping Up the Movement… Dancing Deer is continually seeking ways to grow exposure for One Family. "We try to get the story in holiday gift guides in magazines, and on our Facebook and Twitter feeds we talk about it throughout the year," Stanton says. "We're constantly freshening up the gifts and getting the word out so we can donate more to One Family." PHOTO: DANCING DEER BAKING COMPANY SUMMER 2014 121 Denise Shoukas is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine. The gifts include a cookie in the shape of a house with a window and a chimney, packaged in a box that looks like a book and tells the story of Sweet Home. givingBack_dancingDear.indd 121 6/4/14 2:35 PM