Her favorite dessert was ice cream topped with chocolate syrup, her driving passion was nutrition education, and when you knew her, you knew that you mattered. Who you are and what you do matters—that’s how she made you feel. Her name was Margaret, the woman whose warm smile greets you from wherever her picture hangs in every Natural Grocers^® store. She was our mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, friend, and co-founder, and when we’re celebrating Women’s History Month, she’s where our story starts.

She was a woman of action, and our Five Founding Principles are rooted in the values she lived every day. She taught us that knowledge about nutrition is one of the most important gifts you can give, and she was tireless in giving it. If you came into one of our stores in the early days, and she was there, you’d often see a line of people waiting to tap into her vast nutrition knowledge, all to the tune of her hearty laughter. The company has grown and changed throughout the years, but Margaret’s conviction about the empowerment of nutrition education is still the heartbeat at its core.

She took every crew member out to lunch on their birthday because if you worked for Margaret, you were family—it was that simple. She wanted you to know that she saw you, a uniquely talented individual, and she was grateful for you. She led with her heart and lived her convictions with the courage of someone who was never trying to be anyone but herself. In that living, she left us this pearl of wisdom: work at what you believe in and never judge the choices that other people make too harshly.

So here's to women everywhere, who have fought for a better future, made change happen, and shaped the narrative of history. Here’s to women who have unabashedly loved, believed, and been themselves; the ones whose names history may never record, but who have inspired us to not give up doing the best we can, and who have reminded us that we matter.

And here’s to you, Margaret! Thank you for how you made us feel.
The Isely Family