Using Money to Make Change

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"Nell and her dad corresponded about the food business," Meehan says. "I helped her write a letter that put her ideas in business format and he was really impressed. 'Oh wow,' he said, 'We could do Newman's Own, The Second Generation."' But he still wasn't sold on selling organic products. Nell was forlorn.

The entrepreneurial Meehan quickly countered: "I told her, 'I'm not going to commiserate with you. This is an incredible offer. If you turn it down without even trying, you'd be nuts!"' That's when Nell hatched the secret turkey-dinner plan to convince her father that "The Second Generation" should be organic.

"Nell is a true believer," says Gene Kahn, who 32 years ago founded Cascadian Farm, one of the first organic food companies in the United States. "She is motivated by her beliefs and combines that motivation with strong business sense. I just love her company. It is all done to benefit charity, so it is an excellent utilization of a celebrity persona—probably the best example we will ever see in the world of organics."

Organic Giving

Newman's Own Organics has 61 products on the market, ranging from pet food (introduced in 2003) to olive oil, pretzels and cookies. Thirty-five of those are 100 percent organic, while the rest have at least 70 percent organic ingredients. Organic or not, most of the products fall into the snack food category. "One of the biggest problems in doing what we do is that we are, in fact, a walking, functioning contradiction," Meehan says. "The world does not need another consumer product, nationally distributed with all of the problems of shelf-life, packaging and freight issues. So many things are inefficient and not sustainable in our operation by their very nature. It is difficult for me and Nell because we know that.

"But the fact that we are growing the organic base in agriculture makes it worthwhile. That, plus we can channel our profits into organizations that are in need of funding. If it weren't for Newman, I wouldn't be in the food business—it is so fraught with waste."

With all that in mind, the two came up with an idea to out-Newman Pa Newman. They decided: Let the people who produce Newman's Own foods help choose where the money goes.

Paul Newman flipped over the idea. "He thought that was incredible," Meehan says. "Paul had been in business for 15 years and he had never thought of it. Now everybody gets to give away the money."

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