Who Makes Your Food¿
Thank you for taking the time to learn a little about the folks who make your food. I think it is important to know where your food is coming from and the intention behind it. I also think it is important to know you are making a difference in our lives by choosing to buy our products. We are just a couple of brothers trying to provide for our families jut like many of you. Thank you so much for supporting us and in doing so making it possible for us to support our families and employees. Thank you.
Justin Baumgartner: Founder, President
What do y’all need to know about me? It’s so hard to sum it up. I am a pretty normal guy who has had an incredible life. I have a beautiful wife, Dawn, that I have been best friends with for over 12 years and a baby girl, Devi Mae. I am a father and husband first and a businessman second. I am just like everyone else, doing my best to provide for my family and afford my daughter opportunities I didn’t have and trying to steer her clear of the mistakes I made. Believe me, I have made mistakes and thank goodness I have learned from them. I do not have a formal background in the Culinary Arts, I have a degree in Religious Studies from Northern Arizona University. When it came to food I just always “got it” and I have learned everything I know on the job and usually on the fly. I moved to New York in 04’ to be with Dawn. I started working in restaurants and learning everything I could about food. After a few years of working for people and having their work ethics imposed on me I came to the conclusion it was time to find a way to do things the way I thought they should be done. After graduating from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 06’ Dawn and I decided to move back to Phoenix and start Laughing Giraffe Organics. Lucky for me my wife didn’t think I was crazy and supported me 100%, so we moved to Phoenix in May of 06’ and got started. I really have just placed my faith in the idea that if your intentions are pure and you live a good life then things will work out for you and they have. I am so blessed that this business allows me to bring my baby girl to work with me and spend time nurturing her. She certainly keeps us all on our toes. I just want to be able to make delicious nutrient dense food that people can actually benefit from eating and support my family doing it. I guess that’s it in a nutshell, it’s tough to sum up what your all about in a paragraph. If you would like to know more about my story I have decided to write a blog about it and really explore how I managed to pull all of this off. Thank you for supporting my dream and allowing me to be the best father and husband I can be.
Josh Daniels Brother/Partner
Hailing from the motor city and now living in the desert, I partnered up with my brother Justin when he asked for a helping hand with his raw food company, Laughing Giraffe Organics. My professional working background is in the hospitality industry, so a fit with Laughing Giraffe had a different flavor, but mostly followed the same blueprint of my past restaurant work and lined up with my experience and passion. Getting closer to the process of seeing how foods are grown, processed, handled and end up on our dinner table has been an eye-opening experience. Making a great product for people to enjoy and dealing with our appreciative customers has proven to be more fulfilling than I imagined. This to me has been an unexpected benefit of our business venture. I am a graduate of Arizona State University and still reside near the Tempe campus. My wife Marcella and I enjoy taking advantage of Arizona’s ample sunshine by swimming, taking walks with our dog and seeing the land on a motorcycle ride. Laughing Giraffe has made a difference in my life as we make a difference in yours. Thanks.