Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Baer-Sinnott.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I moved to Boston in 1976, after college, and worked at Lesley College, and then the New England River Basins Commission, a federal-state water resources planning agency. This job gave me a passion for natural resources planning and I went to graduate school at UMass in Amherst for regional planning. When I graduated in the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan was President and James Watt was Secretary of the Interior, and, sadly, there was little money for planning. This disappointment opened a wonderful door — I spent 9 exciting years at INC. magazine, at a time when entrepreneurship was booming, and the magazine was growing as well. I was INC.’s Special Projects Editor, working on all of the special features (INC. 500, INC. 100, Metro Report, and Executive Compensation) and the annual INC. 500 Conference. In 1992, through the wife of INC’s Executive Editor, I was introduced to Dun Gifford, who was the founder of Oldways and needed help to organize two conferences — one in Spain and one in Boston with the Harvard School of Public Health. Thanks to my experience and knowledge of planning and running of conferences, I was hired at Oldways in 1992. I’ve been at Oldways for 25 years, the last 7 as President.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I’ve been at Oldways for 25 years, and during that time the biggest challenge has always been our habit of being way ahead of the curve. Back in 1993 when we introduced the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid with the Harvard School of Public Health, olive oil was an exotic product, sold mainly in small ethnic shops! Where do you even start to change habits and perceptions so broadly? We decided the best approach was to organize a number of culinary and cultural symposiums in Mediterranean countries. We’d raise funds (from the International Olive Oil Council and Ministries of Agriculture, Culture and Tourism of countries around the Mediterranean) to bring journalists, chefs, cookbook authors, food retailers and scientists to different countries for week-long symposiums. The point was educating Americans about the Mediterranean Diet and olive oil — journalists wrote stories in newspapers and magazines; chefs added new dishes to their menus and put olive oil on their tables; cookbook authors wrote a wide variety of new cookbooks; food retailers bought olive oil and other Mediterranean products; and scientists made presentations about the health benefits of the incredibly delicious Mediterranean Diet.
And soon that challenge was transformed into a highlight. These trips were highly sought after. Writers, retailers and chefs didn’t want to “fall off our list.” The people who attended still talk fondly and wistfully about them. These trips were exciting times at Oldways. Yet the trips themselves were challenging! Getting 100 people to far-away places like Casablanca, Tunis, Istanbul, Crete, Puglia (among others) was no easy feat, and managing all of these people was also a challenge, although a very happy challenge. I remember one particular moment. With a tourism official from Morocco, I rocked a 50-person bus at an uninhabited desert rest stop to get it out of a locked emergency brake situation. I weigh just over 100 pounds — it was sheer determination that we got the bus brakes unlocked!
The greater the challenge, the more rewarding eventual success feels. With all our programs — such as the Whole Grains Council, the Supermarket Dietitian Leadership Symposium and the African Heritage & Health program — we’ve jumped in front of the parade before there even was a parade, which is never easy. There are great challenges with each of these programs, but also the rewards of making a difference in people’s health.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Oldways story. Tell us more about the business.
Oldways is a food and nutrition nonprofit organization, with a mission to improve health through education about cultural food traditions, ingredients and lifestyles. We specialize in common sense education about food and nutrition — helping people live healthier, happier lives. We focus on cultural food traditions — Mediterranean, Asian, Latin American, Vegetarian and African Heritage culinary traditions.
Oldways has a number of programs that address and fulfill our mission. We are best known for introducing the Mediterranean Diet and olive oil to Americans in the 1990s, and for the Whole Grain Stamp (since 2005), helping consumers find whole grains. There are more than 11,000 products in 55 countries that carry the Whole Grain Stamp.
Oldways’ new cooking class program, A Taste of African Heritage, brings the African Heritage Diet Pyramid to life, showing people how to eat and cook healthfully, traditionally, and enjoyably through hands-on experience. With lesson plans that simultaneously teach history, nutrition, and cooking techniques, the program introduces participants to the rich cultural history of African heritage foods while providing them the tools they need to adopt this traditional way of eating for better health in modern day life.
A Taste of African Heritage is more than just a series of cooking classes. It is a new kind of wellness program designed to reconnect participants with vibrant ways of eating and living that once promoted the health of African American ancestors everywhere. Participants have lost weight (62%), reduced blood pressure by one stage (30%) and reduced inches from their waists (53%). We’ve found that participants are also making lifestyle changes: increasing consumption of leafy greens and vegetables (35%), eating more whole grains (35%), and cooking more meals at home (27%). We are grateful to the Walmart Foundation for their national support of this program.
A number of Boston classes are planned for the coming year. Please contact Johnisha Levi (johnisha@oldwayspt.org) for more information.
In addition, we will have two companion lesson plans available in the next year — one is A Taste of African Heritage for children, and the other is A Taste of Latin American Heritage (in Spanish and English).
There are two things that set us apart from others — our focus on cultural food traditions, and also that we bring a common sense mix of nutrition science, love of food and the pleasures of the table, authenticity and sustainability to our education programs.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I have been fortunate to meet and work with very talented, interesting people at both Oldways and INC. Some of them are my best friends, and I have learned a great deal from them. Sometimes I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to have the job that I do.
Other times, not-so-good fortune has challenged me.
The sudden death of Oldways founder K. Dun Gifford in 2010 was a defining moment for me as a leader of Oldways. I had always been #2, a really good #2, supporting Dun and Oldways and managing the staff in the office. Then, with Dun’s death, I was dealing with loss and sadness, plus the need to be the front person, the leader — building a new board, defining our vision, making sure everything kept going. I think there were some who wondered if Oldways would continue after Dun’s death. I’m proud to say that we’ve grown, we’re making a difference, doing even better financially, and we have a great board and terrific staff to support our mission.
Pricing:
- Culinary travel programs in the next year — Spain, Sicily and northern Italy — $4400
- Four-week Mediterranean Diet Menu Book, Four-Week Vegetarian Menu Book, Four Week Whole Grains Menu Book — each $10
- Oldways Cheese Coalition memberships — $25 individual, $500 and up for corporate memberships
Contact Info:
- Address: 266 Beacon Street, Suite 1
Boston, MA 02116 USA - Website: www.oldwayspt.org
- Phone: 617 421 5500
- Email: info@oldwayspt.org
Image Credit:
Personal photo – with two internationally known scientists (Antonia Trichopoulou of Greece on the left, and Marta Garaulet from Spain in the middle) at the Beacon Hill Bistro
Oldways
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