ACHIEVE of Bloomington/Monroe County has granted Twisted Limb Paperworks an ACHIEVE Mini Grant in the amount of $2500. With this grant, Twisted Limb Paperworks will be able to recreate the employee garden once enjoyed at its rural location, before its move into downtown Bloomington, IN. The garden will take the form of a living wall, a space efficient solution to an urban location and small lot. A benefit of working at Twisted Limb Paperworks will include the ability to take home organic herbs and vegetables grown in the living wall during the gardening season for no cost and minimal time commitment. Employees will be encouraged, but not required, to participate in this benefit.

Participating employees will be able to take home $15-$35 of produce a week from mid-May through mid-October, equaling an average of $500 in produce annually. Produce will be divided equally by the number of participating employees plus one. The additional ration will be donated to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank or the Community Kitchen. Twisted Limb will provide vegetable and herb seeds or starter plants, space, compost, straw and other mulch products, and gardening tools for employee use. The employees will need only to provide bags or boxes for collecting produce, work gloves, sun hats/sun screen, and their time. The funds for the grant will be allocated at the first of the 2011 year, giving Twisted Limb Paperworks the opportunity to build the living wall for use in the next gardening season.

The employee garden is part of a larger wellness policy that Twisted Limb has instated. As part of the policy, Twisted Limb has declared itself a non-smoking property. To encourage healthy eating habits among employees, the company will provide high fiber, low calorie, and low sugar snacks (cheese and whole grain crackers, yogurt, whole grain granola bars, raw veggies, fruits, trail mix, etc.) free of charge in the employee break room. Twisted Limb will also provided two bikes for use in running errands as well as indoor space for employee bike parking, thus encouraging exercise and sustainable transportation.