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1-22-07
MEXICAN RESTAURANT CALENDAR SALES TO SUPPORT LEOPOLD CENTER
AMES, Iowa --
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., a Denver-based restaurant chain that focuses on "food with
integrity," is selling calendars to support the Leopold Center for Sustainable
Agriculture.
The 2007 Chipotle calendars are available in its 530 stores nationwide
for $5 apiece. Proceeds from the calendars will be divided between the Leopold
Center at Iowa State University, and The Land Institute located in Salina,
Kansas. If every calendar is sold, Chipotle will raise about $100,000 for these
organizations.
The charitable effort befits Chipotle's mission of "Food With Integrity," based on the
use of fresh ingredients that are sustainably grown and naturally raised with
respect for the animals, land and farmers who produce the food. Some of the pork
for their burritos is supplied by Niman Ranch, which buys hogs raised in deep-bedded systems from a
number of Iowa farmers. Chipotle recently announced its use of
sour cream from cows that have not been fed rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone).
The Land Institute is an organization working to develop an agricultural system
called Natural Systems Agriculture. The system is designed to respect the
sustainability of the native prairie and produce annual crops such as wheat and
corn.
Through its research and education programs, the Leopold Center supports the
development of profitable farming systems that conserve natural resources.
Center funding comes from state appropriations and from fees on nitrogen
fertilizer and pesticides, as established by the 1987 Iowa Groundwater
Protection Act.
Chipotle operates about 20 restaurants in each of the Kansas City and Minneapolis/St.
Paul metropolitan areas as well as at five locations in and around Omaha. For more
information, go to www.chipotle.com.
More information about the Leopold Center is at
www.leopold.iastate.edu.
For more information,
contact:
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