Hello friends

As two celiac brothers, we understand the struggle many of you face when trying to find simple, quality, high protein gluten-free food. In fact, that’s the reason we launched The Gluten Free Bar (GFB). What started out as a small side project has turned into a company with products sold in over 12,000 stores across the US and Canada. We’re certainly proud of our growth, but we’re equally proud that we’ve been able to make a positive impact. We’re a little different in that we actually make all of our food in our own facility. It means that we can make a difference not only for our customers by giving them gluten-free products that make them feel great, but by providing opportunity for those in our local community, contributing to the local economy, and being stewards of our environment. We like to say that we make good-for-you gluten-free food in good-for-you ways.

Our commitment

From the beginning, we wanted to create a company that “did the right thing.” As The GFB has grown and we’ve learned more about what “doing the right thing” really means, we’ve evolved into a Triple Bottom Line company — meaning that, as a business, our goals are people, planet, and prosperity.

In order to prove our dedication, we became a Certified B Corp which means we have to meet rigorous standards for social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

By becoming a certified B Corp, GFB has joined a global movement to redefine success in business. As a B Corp, we believe business should think beyond their revenue streams, and work to benefit the community, team members, and environment as a whole.

Making good-for-you food...

All of our products are Certified Gluten-Free by the GFCO. This certification involves proving that all of our raw materials do not contain gluten through constant testing in our production process.

We believe that plant-based products are better for the environment, consume less resources, and can be a healthy alternative to animal-based products. All of our products are certified vegan as set forth by Vegan Action.

All of our products are certified non-GMO. GMOs use herbicides and pesticides which pollute the environment and when ingested by people are linked to a wide variety of health issues.

We aim to make food that can be eaten by people with a wide range of dietary restrictions so that is why all of our products are soy-free (one of the most common allergens).

Kosher certification has strict rules for the food production process. Being Kosher certified (through Kosher Michigan) conveys the message that we produce safe and quality food.

All of our products are certified non-GMO. GMOs use herbicides and pesticides which pollute the environment and when ingested by people are linked to a wide variety of health issues.

We aim to make food that can be eaten by people with a wide range of dietary restrictions so that is why all of our products are soy-free (one of the most common allergens).

Kosher certification has strict rules for the food production process. Being Kosher certified (through Kosher Michigan) conveys the message that we produce safe and quality food.

Food safety is a major issue for us, which is why we voluntarily undergo an annual food safety audit.

NSF International, a leading firm in auditing, education and risk management solutions for public health, evaluates our facility and food safety processes. Each year they conduct a thorough review of the plant, the personnel, and our procedures according to the BRC Global Food Safety Standard. Since adopting BRC Standards, we have achieved and maintained their most prestigious AA rating. Since our first certification, we have never had a major food safety incident.

... in good-for-you ways.

COMMUNITY
Supporting our local community is an important aspect of our mission.

Volunteering
Through volunteering we strengthen our bond with our community. We offer all of our full-time team members up to 24 hours per year of paid volunteer time.

Donating
We have a strong history of working with the local community to share our resources. To date we have a list of over 50 groups we have partnered with our products.

Supporting Local Businesses
We support local businesses in a variety of ways — whether that be professional services, packaging manufacturers, or suppliers and vendors. To establish our commitment to local spending we publish our local spending as a ratio of our overall expenses, hoping to watch it grow as our business does.

Our team

One of our core values is “We Win Together” — that means that if the company is successful, everyone shares in that success. For example:

Wages
100% of our team members earn above the official living wage. Our entry hourly wage is actually 20% above the living wage.

Full-Time Workforce Growth
We’re lucky to have experienced a fair amount of growth over the past few years [more jobs!]. We increased our team by over 45% from 2017 to 2018 and are over 3x larger than in 2015.

Paid Time Off
We recognize that everyone has issues arise and not getting paid because you’re sick or have a family emergency is simply not fair. For that reason we offer all our full-time staff five full-paid vacation days as well as nine paid holidays.

Assistance
We provide counseling services for all team members through a local partnership. They are able to receive confidential assistance on things like finances, housing, legal, transportation and many other areas.

Health Insurance
Taking care of our team members means more than paying them a living wage. We now offer health care for all full-time employees that includes 80% healthcare coverage, 100% dental and 100% vision coverage.

401K
Full-time staff at The GFB are able to enroll in a 401k program with company match.

Employees from underemployed sectors
Becoming a sustainable business means investing in our community. As part of our commitment, The GFB participated in the 30-2-2 program — the goal of which is to create opportunities for formerly incarcerated citizens to prove that they are valuable members of the workforce. We believe in second chances and that a person’s past does not dictate their future. By the end of 2018, we had 24 returning citizens as full-time team members (and we’re still growing).

Team Member Safety
At The GFB we believe in safety, quality, and consistency — in that order. We take our commitment to safety seriously, always having a zero incident goal, but to remain transparent our record stands at: 2016: 0, 2017: 2, 2018: 1.

Zero waste initiative

We made massive strides over the past few years in reducing our overall waste towards our goal of becoming a Zero Waste Food Production Facility by the end of 2018.To be considered Zero Waste we had to have an overall 90% diversion rate. This means that 9 out of every 10 pounds of waste needs to be recycled, composted, upcycled, or reused (and not go in the trash dumpster!).

By April 2018, we implemented all waste measurement procedures, and achieved an 86% diversion rate. As 2018 progressed, we had several months where we exceeded the 90% goal, averaging out to a 90% diversion rate! This was a massive effort that involved every team member doing their part as well as plenty of oversight and meticulous recording, and several “dumpster dives”. Our next goal is to reach a 12 month overall diversion rate of 90%+.