Londonderry, New Hampshire-based Stonyfield Organic, an organic yogurt maker, has been obsessed with fields for almost 40 years. Providing green, organic pastures for its cows, such as Little Flower and Liberty, to roam and graze has been a priority for the brand since 1983. However, Stonyfield realized that organic fields can have a bigger impact on people, pets and the planet beyond its own.
That’s why Stonyfield launched the StonyFIELDS program in 2018, a nationwide initiative to help keep families free from harmful pesticides in parks and playing fields across the country. To further the impact of its program, Stonyfield Organic announces its goal to help convert some of the world’s most famous parks – Central Park in New York City, Prospect Park in Brooklyn and Grant Park in Chicago – to be organically maintained by 2025 through several donations.
By the end of April, Grant Park will be the first of the parks to begin the organic transition as part of the #PlayFree initiative. The organic yogurt brand discovered that while most American parents (69 percent) are looking to lessen their children’s exposure to pesticides in food, nearly the same number (67 percent) do not consider exposure at sports fields, playgrounds and parks to be of concern.
Stonyfield is eager to bring attention to this issue, as more than 26 million kids play sports on the 670,000 fields across the country with 65 percent of the fields sprayed with harmful pesticides like glyphosate, 2,4-D and Dicamba, a source of concern for chemical exposure (that can lead to Parkinson’s disease, Endocrine Disruptor, Thyroid Disease and more).
Stonyfield has converted more than 35 parks since the program’s inception and contributed more than $2 million dollars to the initiative. The company teams up with communities nationwide to assist with their transitions to organic grounds management and bringing organic model fields to millions of people.
This year, Stonyfield aims to make change at some of the most famous urban parks in the country. The yogurt brand is in the process of working with a coalition of organizations to push NYC legislation, to pass bill “Intro 1524” that will prohibit city agencies from applying toxic pesticides to any property owned or leased by the city. This bill has the majority support of New York City Council members but is yet to be passed.
After moving through the hearing process with unanimous support, the legislation is awaiting a vote of the full council. From there, Stonyfield’s donation will help the coalition, which includes groups like Grassroots Environmental, Beyond Pesticides, Osborne Organics, The Black Institute, Parks for Kids NYC, to work with the city to provide training and begin organic maintenance.
Also, in Chicago, Stonyfield is in the process of working with parks and recreation authorities at Grant Park and Sherman Park, as the parks officially begin converting to organic grounds. Additional parks across the country will be converted this year as well, including Jordan Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Reservoir Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and fields in Matthews, North Carolina, to name a few.
Each of this year’s selected communities will receive a monetary donation to use toward the purchase of organic inputs and/or landscaping equipment needed for organic grounds management. The communities also will receive in-kind technical support and guidance underwritten by Stonyfield from the yogurt maker’s collaborators, including Beyond Pesticides, Non-Toxic Neighborhoods, Osborne Organics and Midwest Grows Green.
Stonyfield hopes its #PlayFree program will empower everyone to make changes locally and at home to protect the health of children, their pets and the environment, as well. That’s why this year it launched an online Pesticide Portal where you can tag a park in your community to have it reviewed by the StonyFIELD task force. If chosen, Stonyfield will provide local park officials in your community with the proper tools to test for harmful pesticides and offer resources for them to transition.
Head to stonyfield.com/pesticideportal to tag your park and to learn more about how to take action in your own community and backyard.
