New Leaf Markets in Santa Cruz will be offering Whale Tails Tortilla Chips in the organic snack aisle. Tortilla chips may seem an odd way of funding ocean conservation but one man's bright idea for whale tail-shaped chips, is doing just that. These organic tortilla chips are shaped like a whale's tail and 10% goes back to ocean conservation. Whale Tails Tortilla Chips has just made its first donation that will help tackle pollution in Magdalena Bay, in Bahia California, Mexico, which provides shelter for Pacific Gray Whales where they rear their young before continuing their long journey to the Bering Sea .

Bonnie of New Leaf Markets said “we were excited to receive the samples of Whale Tails that Ric sent us. We opened the bag and passed it around the office. Everyone loved the shape, the taste and also the fact that the company is working to provide sustainable funding through the sale of their delicious tortilla chips.”

New Leaf Markets is no stranger to “Chipping in” (pun intended) for great causes. New Leaf has been recognized by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) for excellence and dedication to community programs. The award is a national competition developed by FMI to recognize retail and wholesale member companies for initiatives that revitalize and invigorate their communities.
New Leaf Community Markets has also been presented with the Neighborhood Partnership Award for its Field-to-Market-to-You program, a collaboration between New Leaf and Life Lab Science Program, a garden-based science non-profit organization, both based in Santa Cruz, CA. This educational program teaches local elementary students about food systems, nutrition, consumerism, agricultural history, their community, the environment and the world. Each week, New Leaf’s “Community Educator” visits two classrooms in different schools in the community and teaches a class session. Later in the week, the same classes visit a New Leaf store in their neighborhood for an educational store tour.

New Leaf Community Markets provided energy-boosting, natural and healthy lunches to the volunteers working at Natural Bridges State Beach in conjunction with Earth Day 2007. Volunteers planted trees, installed an irrigation system and cleared out non-native species. Ric Kraszewski is thrilled to have this new association with New Leaf Markets and it's loyal customers. To hear Kraszewski tell it, he and his school friend were on a surfing expedition and looking for a snack to buy with some change they had scrounged up when Rick Grant had a Eureka moment, let's make chips in the shape of a whale tail. They’ll be “better for dipping by natural design,” he quipped. The two rushed home, all the while talking about creating a product that would inspire people and give back to the whales and the environment. Kraszewski’s wife Terry used a whale photo as a model for a chip she cut out of a tortilla. “They looked so great, and they were functional, the whole idea worked,” said Kraszewski. “I am proud to be invited onto the shelves of New Leaf Markets.” Claudia Parke, Grocery Buyer, of the Felton New Leaf Market on Hwy 9 said she is “looking forward to working with Whale Tails Tortilla in support of local efforts for marine conservation.”

Anyone that read a recent article in Forbes may have seen a piece that portrayed Santa Cruz as nothing more than a beach-bum haven filled with "paunchy middle-age surfers" and "bikini-clad undergrads" Well it seems they left the part out about paunchy middle-aged surfers and businesses that dedicate themselves to making the community and the world they live in a better place.