By Alexa Mooney
My name is Alexa Mooney and for my senior honors thesis I decided to focus on the company Pocono Organics. To be completely honest, I had no idea I would be writing a thesis or becoming passionate about this company in the process. To me, the regenerative organic industry was very foreign before coming to Pocono Organics. Pocono Organics is one of the largest Regenerative Organic Farms in North America. At 381 acres, they have the tools and resources to supply the community with nutrient-dense food. Their mission is to ensure that people experience the healing power of food. Pocono Organics creates moments and experiences that inspire change and transform lives through wellness, health, food diversity, and sustainability.
The message with a lifestyle behind it is not hard to sell to people. The passionate individuals that work at Pocono Organics all have a reason for being here. Whether they are on their own personal health journey or have a passion for helping others.
COVID-19 has created setbacks and a new way of life. When I was in Florida for my Junior Year Spring Break & I got the email saying that our Spring Break would be extended another week, I was excited. Little did I know that I would not return to in person classes for the rest of my college experience. Crazy, right? For me, the silver lining during this pandemic was finding Pocono Organics. I was a little stuck with figuring out what I wanted my thesis to be about. Nothing so far had been sticking out to me or making me say “ Yes! I want to write a 20+ paper about this topic!”. Thankfully I came into contact with Pocono Organics. This company stands for a sustainable way of life. Something that I had not really thought about nor had any prior knowledge of. In this blog you will find blogs of my experience & knowledge of the variety of aspects Pocono Organics has to offer!
In recent years, the conversation surrounding CBD has changed for the better. With research, studies, and personal testimonies CBD is breaking barriers. The research study, Cannabinoids in the Treatment of Epilepsy: Hard Evidence at Last? Written by Emilio Perucca discusses in depth the recent research surrounding how CBD impacts individuals with Epilepsy. There can be many misconceptions regarding Hemp and Marijuana. These two things look similar but the effects are drastically different. Pocono Organics uses Nano CBD essentially sends the CBD at a faster rate into your bloodstream where you feel the effects in your body faster than non-nano CBD. The full-spectrum hemp that we provide includes cannabinoids. If you have never tried CBD before there can be a lot of misconceptions and incorrect information out there. We are here to break barriers and show the world how CBD can be beneficial to you.
When I first came to Pocono Organics it was well known that Hemp was a big focus for them. I tried CBD once via a lollipop and I immediately thought to myself “ I feel so at peace right now”. As someone who was never really anxious until college, this was a really interesting concept to me. Finding out that Pocono Organics has a variety of CBD products turned me on even more! I am a big bath girl and getting the chance to not only use that product but to help make it was so educational. Pocono Organics Hemp only leaves the farm when bought by customers. The products are made in-house by two women with only two machines. I got to spend a few hours helping out the Formulation Specialist, Jocelyn Shilling. Now let me tell you, making 21 bath bombs from scratch by hand is not easy and does not go by fast. I give these women a lot of credit because when I was done, my back was aching for a few hours after.
Jocelyn was extremely helpful and patient with me while I was catching on to the process. Since making these products is not cheap, every ingredient is used until it is empty. That includes scraping the sides of the bowl for excess. Below you will find some images I took that day while in the lab.
Making bath bombs takes time and patience. There were many times where my mixture was not the precise measurement and had to start over. It was a lot of trial and error but it really does make sense. Everything is measured to be exact in order for the products to all be equal since they are being made by hand. You don’t see that a lot these days in our society, so to see something so authentic was truly inspiring.