Whole Story

Just a month after providing our first loan in Oregon, Whole Foods Market is happy to announce that Ruby Jewel Treats, yet another Oregon producer, has received a loan through our Local Producer Loan Program! Like our first Oregon loan recipient, Townshend's Tea Company, Ruby Jewel Treats was recently featured in The Oregonian.

Ruby Jewel was founded by Lisa Herlinger Esco in April 2004 when she started selling her ice cream sandwiches, handmade from locally-sourced ingredients, at the local farmers market in Portland. With her success there, she quickly realized the potential of the product, and later that year she even beat almost 100 fellow competitors to win the American Food Fight Portland Style competition sponsored by Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Since then the company's success has continued to grow: after just five years, Ruby Jewel has retail distribution throughout the West Coast and many other parts of the country. Lisa will be using her loan to build a larger, more energy-efficient freezer for ice cream sandwich storage.

So if you're near a Whole Foods Market that carries Ruby Jewel, go check out Lisa's ice cream sandwiches. Ice cream in the winter, you say? Definitely! Check out some of the flavors: lemon cookie with honey lavender ice cream; double chocolate cookie with peanut butter ice cream; dark chocolate cookie with fresh, locally-grown mint ice cream; cinnamon chocolate cookie with espresso ice cream; and - seasonal and perfect for winter - ginger cookie with pumpkin! Not all flavors are available everywhere, but trust me, no matter which one you pick up, you'll go home happy.

We are so proud to support these great products and their producer!