ORGANIC DELIRIUM
Labeling products “organic” can influence perception of food, according to a study done by Cornell University. Known as the “health halo effect,” calling an item organic improves how people perceive its taste, calories and value.
The study asked 115 people to evaluate two foods. They were told one was organic, the other regular. What the participants didn’t know was that both options were organic and had no actual differences.
The results show the participants had indeed been tricked. Participants said the cookies and yogurts labeled organic seemed to have fewer calories and tasted lower in fat, and people were willing to pay up to 23.4 percent more for the organic, according to the study.
The health halo effect is more likely to affect shoppers who don’t regularly read labels or buy organic food.
BOHEMIAN BIERGARTEN OPENS
The Bohemian Biergarten, the latest restaurant on Boulder’s 13th Street, is opening to the public this week. The European-style beer hall will be serving dinner April 11, open from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Starting the next day, the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner.
The biergarten will serve eight beers on draft and about 15 bottled brews, General Manager Pavel “Pauly” Soukup said in an email. The taps include a few American — that is, Boulder — products, like Avery’s White Rascal and Shine’s Trilogy IPA. But the majority are European brews, like Paulaner Hefeweizen, Warsteiner Dunkel, Pilsner Urquell, Stiegl lager and Staropramen, a Czech beer. Soukup says the restaurant will announce daily specials on Facebook and Twitter.
FRESH FOOD FUNDRAISING
A co-op fundraising program put on by Door to Door Organics raised $11,000 for schools in Colorado and other nonprofits in 2012.
A co-op is formed when four or more orders are delivered to the same location and generates a discount. Schools or nonprofits that participate in the co-op program may turn their 10 percent discount into a donation.
“We love the regular influx of funds,” Megan Morgan of The Peak School in Breckenridge said in a press release. “There are very few other fundraisers which function year-round and have such an incredibly high return on investment.”
To form a co-op, families can order their produce and other groceries through Door to Door Organics and have them delivered to the school on ice.
