The Giving Garden® Loyalty Program

Gather For Good

By Martina Halloran, CEO, Dr. Hauschka Skin Care USA & Founder, The Giving Garden® and Host Of The Giving Garden® Podcast

When I joined Dr. Hauschka, I was drawn not just to the efficacy of its products but to the philosophy behind them. Long before sustainability became a buzzword, this brand had been cultivating a relationship with nature that was reciprocal, intentional, and reverent. Our ingredients are grown sustainably, harvested with care, and transformed through processes that honor both the earth and the hands that tend it.

To me, that mirrored what I had always believed about people. When we nurture one another, when we see care as a form of cultivation, we all thrive.  As I stepped into my role leading Dr. Hauschka Skin Care, I wanted to ensure that our business was not only about what we put on the skin, but about what we pour into the world.

That vision took root in what would become The Giving Garden®, a program that started as a loyalty initiative but quickly evolved into something much more.

I was on a mission to reimagine loyalty as a shared act of gratitude. What if every purchase could nourish someone else too? What if the loyalty points, we earn as consumers could become the seeds of generosity that feed and nourish communities across the country?

Through The Giving Garden®, our customers earn rewards not only for their purchases but for helping us give back. A portion of the program supports organizations across the country that fight food insecurity and promote community wellness. Together we’ve partnered with groups like Project Bread in Massachusetts, Alameda County Community Food Bank in California, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, and Toni’s Kitchen in New Jersey among others.

Each partnership tells a story of care. A mother finding peace knowing her child will eat a healthy meal that day. A community that thrives and advocates for fresh food access for all. A family that can devote their resources to other responsibilities because they were able to fill their pantry.

The Giving Garden® has become a living, breathing ecosystem of giving – giving done with care and dignity.

This has been a labor of love, and an effort that took me back to my childhood. I remember standing in line, lunch tray in hand, trying to hide my free lunch ticket as best I could, knowing the person behind me knew that orange meant free.  Hunger outweighed the shame, and I was as grateful as a kid full of shame could possibly be, though I understood in that one click of my ticket, there was an invisible message - someone, somewhere, cared enough to make sure I was nourished. That early act of care planted something deep within me. It was a quiet understanding that giving sustains us all, and that dignity is just as essential as nourishment.

Years later I would come to see how that lesson would guide nearly every decision I’ve made as a leader, as a woman, and as a human being who believes that the simplest acts of care can change lives.

In the United States today, the need is vast. According to the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the United States Department of Agriculture, in 2023 approximately 13.5 percent of U.S. households, roughly 18.0 million households, experienced food insecurity at some time during that year, meaning they faced difficulty providing enough food for all members of the household because of a lack of resources.  Put another way, roughly 47.4 million people lived in food-insecure households.

What these numbers tell us is that in one of the wealthiest societies in the world, millions still carry the burden of wondering whether their next meal will arrive, whether it will sustain them, whether it will allow them to show up fully in the world.

As The Giving Garden® grew, so did the sense that something powerful was happening. It wasn’t just about donations or impact reports. It was about connection. Our customers weren’t simply buying skincare; they were becoming part of a community of care. Gathering for a greater good that nourishes communities to thrive.

The phrase “Gather for Good” began as a campaign theme, but it evolved into a philosophy that defines how we move through the world. To gather is to come together with intention, to share space, stories and purpose. To gather for good is to transform that connection into collective action.

Every product we create, every partnership we nurture, every conversation we spark through The Giving Garden® carries that energy of community, of reciprocity, of care in motion.

I believe deeply that access to healthy, reliable food sources is a fundamental human right. We are not merely talking about providing food; we are talking about enabling human beings to live with dignity, to thrive, to participate fully in their communities. The condition of not knowing whether you will eat enough, or whether what you eat will be nutritious enough to fuel your body and mind, creates a barrier to possibility.

When a person must spend precious energy worrying about where the next meal comes from, that person is diverted from their potential. They are less able to learn, less able to work, less able to love and serve. They are carrying a burden no one should have to carry. Imagine instead, a community where each person is nourished, not just fed; where children grow strong and hopeful, adults feel empowered not ashamed, and the whole community lifts up together.

When we remove the burden of food insecurity, we make space for people to become contributors in their communities. They can lead, they can innovate, they can care. That is the future The Giving Garden® seeks.

In 2024, we looked to grow the next branch of this movement - The Giving Garden® Podcast. I realized how rarely stories of care and giving are told and shared, and how powerful it could be to create a platform where others could share their own experiences of giving, resilience and community care.

So we built a podcast rooted in that spirit, a giving spirit! Each month we invite guests whose work embodies what it means to gather for good. We’ve spoken with the CEO of Project Bread about the fight to end hunger in Massachusetts; with community-based groups in Brooklyn who remind us that joy is an act of resistance; with organizations whose efforts nourish not only bodies but also spirits.

These conversations are raw, honest and deeply human. We don’t shy away from the hard truths of food insecurity, systemic inequities and burnout; but we also celebrate the beauty of people doing the work - the gardeners of change so to speak.

For me, every recording is a reminder that giving is not a one-way act. It’s circular. The more we give, the more we receive in wisdom, perspective and hope.

What began as a loyalty program has blossomed into a network of partnerships that extend across states and sectors. Together with our nonprofit collaborators, wellness advocates and community leaders, we’re cultivating solutions that are as holistic as our skincare rituals.

We’ve supported organizations that deliver fresh produce to families, create safe cooking spaces, teach nutrition through dignity and respect. We’ve amplified stories of changemakers who believe, as we do, that well-being starts with access to food, to care, to opportunity.

In each of these collaborations, I see echoes of that cafeteria from my childhood. The simple act of providing nourishment becomes something far greater - a bridge between hearts, a thread of humanity.

Dr. Hauschka has always believed that beauty is not surface-level, it’s a reflection of inner balance and outer harmony. Our products are born from nature’s rhythm of giving and receiving, of rest and renewal.

The Giving Garden® and its many branches are expressions of that same rhythm. Just as the rose replenishes the soil it grows in, we strive to replenish the communities that sustain us.

When people ask what “Gather for Good” really means, I tell them it’s about wholeness. It’s about recognizing that we are part of a larger ecosystem of care where every gesture, every purchase, every act of kindness contributes to collective growth.

Sometimes when I walk through farmers markets, or visit a community kitchen, I find myself thinking back to that little girl with her free-lunch ticket. She couldn’t have known that decades later she’d lead a company rooted in the same values that once fed her body and nourished her spirit.

I created The Giving Garden® in honor of every child, every parent, every person who has ever felt seen, fed and cared for by their community. Because giving is the purest form of beauty there is.

To our loyal members, our podcast listeners, our partners in purpose, I thank you for gathering with us. Together, we are growing something that cannot be measured by sales or downloads, but by the seeds of kindness we plant in one another.

We grow stronger when we grow together.

That is the heart of The Giving Garden®. That is what it means to Gather for Good.

Join us in The Giving Garden® and become a member! Listen to our monthly conversations on The Giving Garden® Podcast, available on YouTube. Stay connected with our mission on instagram at @drhauschka.usa. You can also follow Martina Halloran at @themartinahalloran

To read other articles from Karjaka Magazine, visit karjakamagazine.com/gather-for-good/