Clif Bar's In Good Company® program brings a coalition of volunteers together to create a better future for food

In Good Company invites employee volunteers from values-driven businesses to work alongside local, community nonprofit partners during weeklong immersion projects focused on healthy food systems, environmental restoration, and rebuilding after natural disasters. 

We
 help build community gardens and straw-bale homes, restore forests and wetlands, and clear (tons of) trash from the Ohio River. These experiences change both the communities where we work and our volunteers. It’s not just the fresh food or cleaner water, it's also the conversations and insights that come when working together side by side.

In Good Company grew out of Clif Bar & Company’s long tradition of hands-on community service and the certainty that collaboration among businesses can be a powerful force for positive change. Clif Bar directs and manages the program.

For media and press contact, email us at ingoodcompany@clifbar.com

50+ companies
675 employee volunteers
25+ nonprofit partners 
8 communities
27,500+ volunteer hours

Strengthening Food Systems

We've increased growing space and access to fresh produce in communities from coast to coast:
6 community gardens renovated, equaling the size of a football field for growing and gathering in the Bronx
3 market stands, 1 toolshed, 1 woodshop, 1 classroom and 14 raised beds built at West Oakland Farm Park
1 food forest launched at a food bank in California's Central Valley
1 education hub (a yurt!) constructed for youth at an East Oakland nursery
Many raised beds, chicken coops, bee boxes, composters, and vermicomposters in multiple communities

Protecting & Restoring the Environment

We've restored acres of forests, rivers, and wetlands (some of the world's most beneficial ecosystems):
5,000+ trees planted in Stanislaus National Forest
9.5 acres of wetlands planted, which grew to 78 restored acres in Louisiana's Gulf Coast
135,500+ pounds of garbage pulled from the Ohio River

1 bamboo forest test-modeled to reduce diesel particulates and improve air quality in West Oakland

Rebuilding Communities

We've helped rebuild and renovate homes, and created community and learning spaces:
2 homes rehabbed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
3 straw-bale homes and 3 community ovens restored on Hopi land
2 homes fitted with solar panels in West Oakland
1 art studio, 1 art gallery, 1 multipurpose space created for youth in the Bronx

Inspire Service. Create Change

2005

Hurricane Katrina flattens and floods much of New Orleans.

2007

Clif Bar sends 14 employees to New Orleans to rebuild homes in the Upper 9th Ward after Katrina—and Clifsters have an epiphany moment: we can make even more impact by inviting other companies to come along.

New Orleans Pilot Project

1 Company
14 Volunteers
560 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: Habitat for Humanity


Clif Bar sends 14 employees to New Orleans to rebuild homes in the Upper 9th Ward after Katrina—and Clifsters have an epiphany moment: we can make even more impact by inviting other companies to come along.

2008

New Orleans (#1)

6 Companies
27 Volunteers
1080 Volunteer Hours
3 Community Partners: New Orleans Food & Farm Network, Rebuilding Together New Orleans, Bayou Rebirth


In Good Company is born!
Employee-volunteers from Annie’s, Clif Bar, EILEEN FISHER, Numi Tea, Seventh Generation, and Timberland rebuild the Ebarb family home in New Orleans.

The In Good Company alliance was initiated by Annie's, Clif Bar, EILEEN FISHER, Numi Tea, Seventh Generation, and Timberland.

2009

New Orleans (#2)

7 Companies
26 Volunteers
1040 Volunteer Hours
4 Community Partners: Rebuilding Together, Backyard Gardeners Network, Lower 9th Ward Village Community Center, Bayou Rebirth



Renovate the Cousin’s family Hollygrove-neighborhood home, plant a garden, rehab a Lower 9th Ward community center, and top it all off with a day of wetlands restoration.

2010

Hopi (#1)

3 Companies
10 Volunteers
400 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: Red Feather Development Group


Raise wooden tresses and stack 300 straw bales with the Nachie family to build their home in Bacavi.

West Oakland (#1)

11 Companies
25 Volunteers
1000 Volunteer Hours
3 Community Partners: City Slicker Farms, GRID Alternatives, Urban Biofilter


Transform 1 city block into a community garden. 6 backyard gardens! chicken coops! Install solar panels on two neighborhood homes. 1 prototype bamboo forest to filter diesel particulates from the air.

88 volunteers from 13 companies have planted and hammered with In Good Company

Deep Water Horizon explodes 40 miles off the Louisiana coast.

2011

Gulf Coast (#1)

11 Companies
25 Volunteers
1000 Volunteer Hours
2 Community Partners: Restore the Earth Foundation, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries


Plant 15,000 mangroves and Spartina grasses on 4.5 acres to grow wetlands, build new hurricane buffer, and create bird habitat.

Hopi (#2)

8 Companies
19 Volunteers
760 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: Red Feather Development Group


Team up with the Adams family to build their home in Polacca.

West Oakland (#2)

7 Companies
18 Volunteers
720 Volunteer Hours
3 Community Partners: City Slicker Farms, GRID Alternatives, Urban Biofilter


Urban farms for West Oakland. (Solar panels on neighborhood homes, and environmental restoration too!)

2012

Gulf Coast (#2)

16 Companies
28 Volunteers
1120 Volunteer Hours
2 Community Partners: Restore the Earth Foundation, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries


15,000 more native grasses and trees planted on 5+ acres (total Gulf Coast acres planted over 2 years: 9.5, which will grow into 78+ acres over the next 6 years).

Bronx (#1)

9 Companies
22 Volunteers
880 Volunteer Hours
2 Community Partners: Bronx Green-Up, Project EATS


Go big, go Bronx! 79 raised beds, 14 greenhouse tables, and 2 bee boxes for 2 urban farms (1 at University Heights High School).

West Oakland (#3)

11 Companies
19 Volunteers
760 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: City Slicker Farms


Laser-focus on more access to healthy, locally grown food: on the Ralph J. Bunche Academy campus, we build a new greenhouse, refurbish an old one, and construct a composting plot and a shady spot for sprouts.

Over 200 volunteers from 28 companies have volunteered with In Good Company.

2013

Hopi (#3)

10 Companies
15 Volunteers
600 Volunteer Hours
2 Community Partners: Kii' Nat Wan Lalwa, Red Feather Development Group


We get muddy with Kii' Nat Wan Lalwa, plastering ancestral homes, 1 piki house, and 2 community ovens in Hotevilla and Mishongnovi.

West Oakland (#4)

15 Companies
23 Volunteers
920 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: City Slicker Farms


Big-time building: we raise a community-gathering and education space—and a woodshop so City Slicker Farms can build custom veggie beds for backyard gardeners. The harvest-washing area at Fitzgerald and Union Plaza Park also gets an upgrade.

Bronx (#2)

12 Companies
20 Volunteers
800 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: The Point CDC


1 brick building transformed into an artists’ studio for House of Spoof, a youth art collective. 1 shipping container renovated into an art gallery (with lighting, accessible platforms, and a ramp). 1 multipurpose space supports creative action.

The Rim Fire erupts: a hunter’s illegal fire burns out of control, destroying more than 250,000 acres in Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park.

2014

Hopi (#4)

13 Companies
22 Volunteers
1056 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: Red Feather Development Group


In Good Company (IGC) volunteers work side by side with the Sekayumptewa family in Hotevilla to help build their energy-efficient, straw-bale home.

Bronx (#3)

17 Companies
24 Volunteers
1152 Volunteer Hours
2 Community Partners: Bronx Green-Up, Taqwa Community Farm


Back to the Bronx to build a chicken palace and revitalize Taqwa Community Farm in the Highbridge neighborhood.

West Oakland (#5)

9 Companies
13 Volunteers
624 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: City Slicker Farms


1,000 (give or take) wriggly worms can live in a vermicomposter—and we build many to supply healthy soil for CSF’s backyard gardeners (and because tools need a home too, we also build a tool shed).

West Oakland (#6)

11 Companies
16 Volunteers
768 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: City Slicker Farms


3 farm stands lovingly crafted (think mortise and tenon joints!) for Oakland’s new farm park. Mini greenhouses, too, plus composters and (more!) worm bins installed in backyards.

Drought drives California’s Governor to declare a state of emergency—and we cross paths with a fruit-gleaning PhD who introduces us to a visionary food bank in the Central Valley where we'll volunteer in 2016.

2015

Bronx (#4)

9 Companies
17 Volunteers
680 Volunteer Hours
2 Community Partners: Bronx Green-Up, Friends of Brook Park


Return to the Bronx: at Brook Park we dismantle an old greenhouse (extra muscles required to clear the concrete foundation) and construct a 14-foot rain garden to capture rain runoff. Then, so neighbors can linger, we build benches, picnic tables, and bee boxes.

Bronx (#5)

11 Companies
20 Volunteers
800 Volunteer Hours
3 Community Partners: Bronx Green-Up, Friends of Brook Park, GrowNYC


Brook Park (one more time!): we build a 700-square-foot hoop house and install 3 rainwater catchment systems, which means the park can now capture 1,500 gallons of rainwater.

Stanislaus (#1)

16 Companies
24 Volunteers
960 Volunteer Hours
3 Community Partners: Tuolumne River Trust, U.S. Forest Service, Telele Foundation


The forest needs a whole lotta love after the catastrophic Rim Fire, so we prep many acres for tree planting, then gussy up the Rim of the World, and build out the Telele Foundation’s nursery.

Over 400 volunteers from 44 companies have dug and painted with In Good Company.

2016

Alum Project in West Oakland

7 Companies
32 Volunteers
192 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: City Slicker Farms


In a single day, Bay Area alums build and install 14 ADA-accessible redwood garden beds to provide growing space for local families. We install irrigation and sow seeds to provide hundreds of pounds of mustard, chard, lettuce, arugula, and mesclun at City Slicker Farms Urban Farm Park.

Stanislaus (#2)

8 Companies
19 Volunteers
752 Volunteer Hours
2 Community Partners: Tuolumne River Trust, U.S. Forest Service


2,900 saplings planted in Stanislaus National Forest.

Bronx (#6)

17 Companies
25 Volunteers
1000 Volunteer Hours
2 Community Partners: Bronx Green-Up, Neighborhood Advisory Committee Community Garden


This huge-hearted garden (and its fearless leader, Marty) steals our hearts and we clear out thousands of pounds of concrete, bricks, and rubble to restore its beautiful central path. Did we mention the new, hand-crafted cedar boxes, including an ADA-compliant garden bed?

Central Valley (#1)

9 Companies
12 Volunteers
480 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: FoodLink Tulare County


1 dusty parking lot begins its journey to become 1 community food forest: we install irrigation, lay gravel walkways, and build soil mounds.

Central Valley (#2)

13 Companies
18 Volunteers
782 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: FoodLink Tulare County


The food forest is shaping up: we build 2 shady pergolas, a children’s garden, and a long cedar fence to shelter food and visiting neighbors.

2017

Stanislaus (#3)

11 Companies
19 Volunteers
760 Volunteer Hours
2 Community Partners: Tuolumne River Trust, U.S. Forest Service


Stanislaus National Forest welcomes 2,470 more saplings, bringing our 2-year total to 5,370 trees.

Over 500 volunteers from 49 companies have shoveled and celebrated with In Good Company.

Bronx (#7)

13 Companies
22 Volunteers
880 Volunteer Hours
3 Community Partners: Bronx Green-Up, Mary Mitchell Family & Youth Center, Garden of Youth


The Garden of Youth in the Cretona neighborhood gets a loving overhaul: 1 new greenhouse, lots of raised beds, and a leafy green space for kids.

A series of 250 wildfires—including Tubbs, Atlas, and Nuns fires—blaze across Northern California, burning more than 245,000 acres and forcing evacuations.

Alum Project in Santa Rosa

6 Companies
24 Volunteers
144 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: Redwood Empire Food Bank


In one day, Bay Area alums pack 6,750 pounds of carrots and over 270 grocery to-go boxes to distribute 13,230 pounds of food for families affected by the Northern California fires.

2018

Bronx (#8)

14 Companies
24 Volunteers
860 Volunteer Hours
2 Community Partners: Bronx Green-Up, Charles W. Cooke Farm Park


Local heroes Ms. Ida and Ms. Minnie join in our efforts to build 56 raised beds, move mountains of soil, and overhaul the 17,000-square-foot Charles W. Cooke Farm Park.

Ohio River (#1)

13 Companies
21 Volunteers
840 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: Living Lands & Waters


What to do about plastics in the oceans? We start upstream, working on the most polluted river in the U.S. Team #1 excavates 24,740.25 pounds of trash.

Ohio River (#2)

9 Companies
21 Volunteers
840 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: Living Lands & Waters


Crew #2 digs out 31,348 pounds from the Ohio, bringing our 2-week total to 56,000 pounds of garbage that will never reach the ocean.

The Camp Fire is the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, covering 153,336 acres, destroying 11,000 homes and displacing close to 50,000 people.

Celebrating 10 years

54 Companies
29 Projects
2 Alum Projects
24,650 Volunteer Hours

2019

Oakland (#7)

15 Companies
20 Volunteers
800 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: Planting Justice


IGC volunteers gather at Planting Justice’s East Oakland nursery to build a 30-foot yurt and two pergolas, spaces where youth will learn about nutrition and food justice.

Ohio River (#3)

15 Companies
24 Volunteers
926 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: Living Lands & Waters


Return to the Ohio River, this time for three consecutive weeks, between Neville, Ohio, and Maysville, Kentucky. Team #3 hauls out over 29,000 pounds, including tires, barge line, a boat, a canoe, and lots and lots of single-use plastic.

Ohio River (#4)

10 Companies
14 Volunteers
550 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: Living Lands & Waters


Team #4 piles up mounds of trash, including 1,671 feet of barge line, sinks, bowling balls, carpet, a 200-pound tractor tire, and hundreds of compostable bags filled with recyclables. Over 24,500 pounds in all! Plus a special performance by Hector on the barge.

Ohio River (#5)

8 Companies
17 Volunteers
588 Volunteer Hours
1 Community Partner: Living Lands & Waters


Team #5 finishes strong with almost 26,000 pounds, including 340 tires and an unprecedented 3 messages in bottles. That brings our 2019 season total to over 79,500 pounds and a two-year total of over 135,500 pounds that won't reach the ocean.

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