GHR Recommends Witzi's Raw Granola

Hello, Kate Jones here, bringing you the first of an occasional series called GHR Recommends.  The idea is to use my platform to highlight something that’s exceptional in one way or another, and no money or goods are ever exchanged. I just recommend what I think may be worth your while.

I'm starting off with one of my absolutely favorite products, Witzi's Raw Granola, and for this launch, I'm presenting a short interview with Amy Witzigreuter, founder and owner of the company, to give you a figurative taste of the granola that's become a staple in my pantry.

Amy is the creator of all the granola recipes in the line, and if you want to hear more of her compelling story, please go to Gale Hill Radio's episode 59, titled Raw Magic: Witzi's Granola.

The accompanying photo was taken by my husband, Bernie Jones. It shows my usual breakfast:  Witzi's Lemon Raspberry granola on yogurt. On that particular morning, I added blueberries and strawberries . 

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to The Gale Hill Radio Hour!

The show is available in Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast directories. Also on Substack and YouTube; Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Transcript

[00:00:25.250] - Kate

Hello, this is Kate Jones with The Gale Hill Radio Hour. This is the first of an occasional series on products, services or organizations that I really appreciate for what they do and why they do it. I'm launching this series with one of my absolutely favorite products, Witzi’s Raw Granola. And today I have the pleasure of interviewing Amy Witzigreuter, founder and owner of Witzi’s Raw Granola, LLC. Welcome to the show, Amy.

[00:00:59.090] - Amy

Thank you. I'm happy to be here.

[00:01:01.430] - Kate

Happy to have you. You launched your company in 2018, although you've been making healthy granola for much longer than that. Please tell your story.

[00:01:13.190] - Amy

So, Witzi's began many years ago when my youngest son was born and faced with a lot of health issues and GI issues. We were forced to find alternative snacks and foods that he could tolerate. And I landed upon a granola recipe that he loved and everybody loved, and it just was clean and met all of his needs. And the business didn't come until many years later, after I had to learn some other lessons about perseverance and finding my voice and understanding autism. So we like to say that we are on a mission to help people with autism and with their diets as well. And so it's a clean, healthy product and people with abilities can practice job skills at our kitchen, so we feel really good about that. And that's really where it all began.

[00:02:16.310] - Kate

Oh, that's terrific. And your son not only had a couple of organ transplants when he was really young, he, at two and a half, was diagnosed with autism, correct?

[00:02:30.450] - Amy

Yes. That was a big blow, and we had to wrap our arms around that and figure out how to help him. And food was a big part of it. Also therapy and intensive therapy as well. But changing his diet made a big difference for him.

[00:02:46.360] - Kate

And then you started having him work with you at the kitchen, as you said, and his classmates also, and you provide hands-on job training opportunities. That is so cool.

[00:03:02.650] - Amy

Thank you. Yeah, we love it. We love when they're in the kitchen; they add a whole layer of energy, and it's so great to see them learning and growing and making progress. And when my son leaves a school-based program, there'll be an option for him to work alongside me at the kitchen. And even if he doesn't want to do that, he'll have developed a lot of other skills that wrap around to being employed, like showing up on time and clocking in and taking breaks and doing their work and following schedules and things like that. So it's just an invaluable opportunity for him, and we want to continue that.

[00:03:45.450] - Kate

Well, as always, thank you, Amy, for your great customer service and your wonderful granola. I will keep buying it because I love it.

[00:03:56.730] - Amy

Well, thank you so much. We love that you're a fan.

[00:03:59.690] - Kate

Oh, yes, I certainly am.

[00:04:03.230] - Amy

We appreciate that. Thank you for this opportunity.

[00:04:05.810] - Kate

You're welcome. This is Kate Jones with GHR Recommends, an occasional series of The Gale Hill Radio Hour. Just want to let you know that no money or products were exchanged for this segment. I just really enjoy the product and heartily recommend it, obviously. Thanks for listening.