Mi Tierra’s organic corn tortillas may be made with only three ingredients, but there’s a lot more to them than just corn, water, and lime. Jorge Sosa’s tortillas are a symbol of the modern American dream, undeniable – and delectably edible – proof that a community of caring individuals and socially responsible businesses can persevere in the face of tragedy.
This Land Is Our Land
In 2005, Jorge Sosa and Dora Saravia opened a small grocery store in the back of a strip mall in Hadley, Massachusetts. The budding entrepreneurs each worked two jobs to make ends meet, but they invested all the profits they made from the grocery store back into their business. After a few years, they saved enough money to expand into a new space. Jorge, originally from Guerrero in southwest Mexico, proudly opened a family restaurant, and named it Mi Tierra, my land.
Mi Tierra stayed true to its roots, serving authentic Mexican food to a small, but dedicated group of customers in the Pioneer Valley. News of Mi Tierra’s simple but flavorful cuisine spread quickly, and the restaurant became a staple in western Massachusetts’ international food scene.
The owners of the family restaurant made a special effort to know their regular customers, and it wasn’t long before Jorge befriended Michael Docter, an organic farmer and owner of Winter Moon Farm.
Winter Moon Farm is one of Boston Organics’ biggest suppliers in the winter and early spring. Michael Docter grows heaps of delicious beets, carrots, parsnips, and other root veggies on his farm in Hadley, MA.
Michael connected Jorge and Dora with other farmers in the Pioneer Valley, and Mi Tierra soon began using local corn to make their fresh tortillas and chips. The family-owned restaurant began hosting live music and dancing in the evenings, and the community embraced Mi Tierra as a cultural destination.
Tragedy Strikes
One sleepy Sunday night in October, a large fire burned down the entire strip mall, including Mi Tierra – destroying everything that Jorge and Dora had built together. In just a few hours, ten years of carefully invested money, time, sweat, and love went up in smoke.
Tired, frustrated, and distraught, they posted the following message on Mi Tierra’s Facebook page: “Thank you for all the love. Has Been a long night. Sometimes people can do a lot to be success in life, but tragedies happen. We believe that there is an American Dream And is Possible. This tragedy only postpone ours. Best wishes to our neighbors.”
The Hadley community rallied around Jorge and Dora, and volunteers created the Rebuild Mi Tierra website. Word spread of the tragic fire, and a fiesta fundraiser was held at a nearby park. The community bolstered Jorge and Dora’s spirits and they were determined to find a new place that they could call Mi Tierra.
Michael Docter invited Jorge and Dora to make their famous chips and tortillas on his farm, and he helped the couple raise money to rebuild their restaurant. Mi Tierra chips and tortillas started showing up in local stores, and the new enterprise filed for organic certification.
As soon as Mi Tierra received USDA organic certification, Michael Docter put Jorge and Dora in contact with Boston Organics. It only took one taste of Mi Tierra’s tortillas for us to realize that they are the real deal!
Mi Tierra’s organic tortillas are now available for all of our customers to purchase as an add-on. Every tortilla you order helps Jorge and Dora raise money to rebuild their family restaurant. The road may be long, but they do not walk it alone.
Storing & Eating Mi Tierra’s Tortillas
Mi Tierra tortillas are GMO free and have no additives or preservatives. We recommend that you store them in your fridge, and warm them on the stove top for 30 seconds on each side before enjoying. You can also wrap a small stack of tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave them on medium-power in 30 second increments.
Mi Tierra’s fresh corn tortillas are perfect for tacos or to serve with chicken fajitas. You can also melt a little Neighborly Farms Green Onion Cheddar to make a quesadilla, or try them with a couple of scrambled organic eggs from Pete and Gerry’s!
To learn more about Mi Tierra or to donate to their fund to rebuild the restaurant, visit http://www.mitierrahadley.com/. You can read more about Mi Tierra’s tortillas here and order some for yourself on our add-on page.
Our Dogma Box includes organic fruits and vegetables sourced as close to Boston as possible throughout the year. Similar to a CSA or farm share, this box is filled with the best organic produce from local and regional farms each week.
It was so hard to resist eating all of the local organic summer produce in this week’s Dogma Box before snapping this photo. The fresh thyme smells amazing, the cucumbers are crunchy, the corn is sweet, and the blueberries…oh the blueberries.
This week’s Dogma Box contains:
- Blueberries – Dwight Miller Orchards (Dummerston, VT)
- Corn – Lakeside Organics (Hadley, MA)
- Cucumbers, Pickling – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Cucumbers, Slicing – Blue Ox Farm (Enfield, NH)
- Spanish Onions – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Radishes – Deep Root Organic Coop (Johnson, VT)
- Thyme – Happy Valley Organics (Whately, MA)
- Lettuce – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Chard – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
You just can’t beat the experience of eating fresh local blueberries. If you already know that this pint will disappear before your family gets their hands on it, you can order an extra pint to share.
Don’t forget the local organic yogurt from Butterworks Farm!
The season may have officially started last month with the summer solstice, but because the harsh winter and late spring thaw kept our farmers from planting their crops on time, most New England organic produce missed the memo. We have big news for you this week: It’s time for summertime!
Get ready for the first harvests of organic sweet corn and local organic blueberries! We also have fresh herbs, bell peppers, and leafy greens from our partner farms in western Massachusetts. Read this week’s newsletter to find out where your food comes from and how to cook it with four great recipes.
You’ll also learn about our newest grocery add-on: fresh organic tortillas from Mi Tierra, a local family-owned company.
Boston Organics customers can now enter to win one of July’s two Summer Rewards Prizes:
- Breville 850-Watt Juicer
- Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Cones and Cakes
Earn bonus points and increase your chances of winning by encouraging your friends to sign up for Boston Organics!
*Refer-A-Friend*
You’ll also both get 10% off your next delivery.
Join the Juicing Jamboree!
It’s a fact that Americans don’t consume enough fruits and vegetables. Even with a Boston Organics subscription, it takes time and a conscious effort make sure you eat your USDA recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. That’s why many members of the Boston Organics Community enjoy the simplicity and convenience of juicing.
With a quality juicer, you can easily extract the vitamins and minerals from fresh fruits and vegetables, helping your body absorb them more quickly. Plus, fresh homemade juice is unpasteurized, which means it maintains more of these natural nutrients.
You can also control everything that goes into your juice, so you can add an extra head of kale and keep out the sugar – or replace all the kale with a few heaping tablespoons of sugar if you prefer!
The Breville 850-Watt Juicer
As part of our Summer Rewards Program, one lucky Boston Organics customer will be selected to receive a brand-new Breville 850-Watt Juicer at the end of this month!
This high-end juicer is largely considered one of the best introductory juicers on the market. It’s multiple speeds and large feed tube make it easy for you to effortlessly extract nutrients from all of your fresh fruits and vegetables, and the accompanying recipe book will make you a master juicer in no time!
This centrifugal juicer draws the juice out quickly and separates the pulp into a large 2.5-liter receptacle, which means you can juice large quantities without interruptions. If you want a little extra fiber in you diet, you can add some pulp back into your juice or save it for added texture and flavor in soups, pasta dishes, and baked goods. Because the moving parts easily disassemble and are dishwasher safe, cleanup is speedy and painless.
How to Win:
If you want to increase your chances of winning this juicer, you can begin by referring friends to Boston Organics through our Refer-A-Friend Program. For every friend you tell about Boston Organics, you’ll automatically receive 10% off your next delivery and get an extra entry in our monthly Summer Rewards drawing!
Click here to learn how to WIN the
Boston Organics Summer Rewards Program
and to see all 8 amazing prizes!
Our Dogma Box includes organic fruits and vegetables sourced as close to Boston as possible throughout the year. Similar to a CSA or farm share, this box is filled with the best organic produce from local and regional farms each week.
What do all of the items in this week’s Dogma Box have in common? As always, everything is locally grown and certified organic – but they’re also all GREEN!
No, we’re not nostalgic for St. Patrick’s Day or even particularly excited about the Celtics’ new Lucky the Leprechaun logo. It’s just that time of the year when leafy greens and fresh-cut herbs abound and the first bell peppers and zucchini start to come in.
This week’s Dogma Box contains:
- Bell Peppers – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Cabbage – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Collard Greens – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Cucumbers – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Fennel – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Lettuce – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Spring Onions – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Zucchini – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Bok Choy – Happy Valley Organics (Whately, MA)
- Chives – Happy Valley Organics (Whately, MA)
- Garlic Scapes – Witchcat Farms (Enosburg, VT)
Green vegetables are brimming with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and plant-based substances that may help protect you from heart disease and diabetes.
In particular, vitamin K regulates blood clotting, helps protect bones from osteoporosis, and minimizes the effects of inflammatory diseases like arthritis. Because vitamin K is fat-soluble, it may actually be healthier to eat your leafy greens with an oil-based dressing or cooked in a small amount of butter!
Speaking of which, here’s a delicious and simple recipe for Butter-Braised Spring Onions with Chives. Cook it, eat it, and enjoy it in good health!
Promoting a healthy lifestyle in a mindful and sustainable way is a major part of Boston Organics’ mission as a company. We do that primarily by making it easy for regular people to eat fresh, nutritious food every day, but we also encourage all members of the Boston Organics community to build and sustain positive, healthy habits.
Jeff Barry (Boston Organics Founder & President), Nicole Freedman (Director of Boston Bikes), Graham Ward (Boston Organics Cargo Bike Delivery Coordinator)
This morning, we were recognized by Mayor Marty Walsh and Boston Bikes as a Bike Friendly Business at a small ceremony outside of Faneuil Hall. This award was given to a select group of local companies who encourage their employees to bike to work by making their office culture and environment more bike-friendly.
Bike-to-Work
When our employees bike to work, we’re inspired by the fact that they are getting healthy exercise while improving their overall productivity. Studies have shown that exercise before work raises an employee’s productivity by an average of 15% and cyclists take fewer days off of work due to illness! We’re also encouraged by the environmental benefit of having fewer cars on the road.
We provide our employees with secure, covered bike parking inside our warehouse, and we have a small collection of bike tools to help fix a faulty brake or patch a flat tire. Showers and lockers are also available in our building, so employees can be comfortable after getting in a short morning workout.
Important bike safety information is displayed in our break room and we offer bike maps to help employees find the safest routes to and from our office. Biking is the primary form of daily transportation for several of our employees, and our progressive transit subsidy program makes the MBTA an affordable alternative when the roads become too icy for them to ride.
But, as always, we know that there is more that we can do to promote healthy and environmentally sustainable transportation. This is the first time that our efforts have been recognized by Boston Bikes, but next year we’re going to shoot for the coveted “Gold Award”. The standards for this selective award provide a good guideline for us as we consistently improve our bike-friendly policies. We will continue to encourage our employees to use their bikes and hope that our efforts will be recognized again next year.
Currently, we are in the process of acquiring a second cargo-bike which will help us take a van off the road and double the number of deliveries that we make by bike! We’ve been working with Main Street Pedicabs to design a sleek, custom bike that we can load up with our reusable green bins.
Stay tuned to our blog and social media sites as we pedal onward towards an even more bike-friendly Boston!
Jeff Barry (Founder & President) locking up his bike in the Boston Organics warehouse
Please check back for updates on the Wawona stone fruit recall.
Dear Valued Boston Organics Community Member,
Earlier today we learned that one of our fruit suppliers, Wawona Packing Company, voluntarily initiated a precautionary recall of peaches, nectarines, and plums that you may have received in a recent delivery.
The stone fruit is being recalled due to a potential contamination of Listeria monocytogenes, though no illnesses have been linked to this recall to date.
The recall was initiated based on internal company testing at the Wawona Packing facility in California, and the company immediately shut down the packing lines, retrofitted equipment, sanitized the facility, and retested. Subsequent daily test results have been negative.
While the risk of contamination is very low, at Boston Organics we take food quality and safety very seriously. As a precaution, we urge you to discard any of the following fruit that you may still have in your possession:
- White nectarines & yellow peaches delivered between July 7th – July 18th
- Yellow nectarines & red plums delivered between July 7th – July 11th
- Black plums delivered between July 14th – July 18th
We suggest you thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables you received during these dates—as you should with all fruits and vegetables before consuming.
Wawona Packing Company supplies organic and conventional fruit for many regional and national grocers. For your safety, we recommend that if you recently purchased stone fruit elsewhere, that you check with the retailer to see if it has been included in the recall.
We would like to stress that this is a voluntary recall issued by one of our suppliers as a precaution. The fact that the potential contamination was caught and addressed before anyone was negatively impacted demonstrates the benefits of a well-regulated supply chain.
Boston Organics is careful to trace all of the produce that comes in and out of our warehouse, and as a small business we are able to directly contact consumers who may have received the recalled fruit.
If you would like to receive credit on your billing account for any recalled fruit, please fill out the produce issue form on our website: bostonorganics.com/pdi.
Please type “Recall” in the “Comments” section and indicate how many pieces of recalled fruit you discarded. If you are uncertain of the amount, you can indicate this with a question mark in the quantity field, and we will reference your delivery history to ensure you are appropriately credited.
For more information on the recall and to learn about Listeria monocytogenes, view the full press release from Wawona Packing Co. on the FDA website.
Thank you,
The Boston Organics Team
We have all of your summer produce cravings covered for this week with some spectacular organic fruits and vegetables from Atlas Farm and Happy Valley Organics in western Massachusetts.
Atlas Farm is bringing us their first summer harvest of bell peppers from their fields in Deerfield, MA! They also have some beautiful heads of organic cabbage and more of their extraordinary spring onions. Combine either of these delicacies with fresh-cut chives from Happy Valley Organics, and you’re halfway to a delicious meal.
Check out our weekly newsletter to learn what’s fresh and in season and to see what’s coming up on the horizon. We also include weekly recipe ideas and suggested grocery add-ons!
Our Dogma Box includes organic fruits and vegetables sourced as close to Boston as possible throughout the year. Similar to a CSA or farm share, this box is filled with the best organic produce from local and regional farms each week.
This week’s Dogma Box is so full of gorgeous summer vegetables that you can almost sense the jealousy as the bright yellow squash and lanky fennel stalks are forced to compete with alien-like kohlrabi to be the most exciting veggie in your kitchen.
Just be sure you don’t overlook the spring onions or bunched beets, whose greens can be sauteed alongside the Atlas Farm chard or kale for a blast of extra flavor and nutrients.
This week’s Dogma Box contains:
- Chard – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Cucumbers – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Kale – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Lettuce – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Spring Onions – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Zucchini – Atlas Farm (S. Deerfield, MA)
- Basil – Happy Valley Organics (Whately, MA)
- Bunched Beets – Happy Valley Organics (Whately, MA)
- Fennel – Deep Root Organic Coop (Johnson, VT)
- Kohlrabi – Lucky Field Organics (Rochester, MA)
The purple kohlrabi in this week’s box comes from our newest local farm partner, Lucky Field Organics. Starting with just one acre of land in 2003, Eileen and Weston Lant now cultivate 12 acres of organic herbs, flowers, and vegetables on their farm in Rochester, MA!
There’s something special about produce grown organically on a New England farm – maybe it’s the fact that it hasn’t been sprayed with synthetic pesticides, or maybe it’s because it ripened naturally for little bit longer and harvested shortly before you take your first bite.
Whatever the reason, you’ll taste the difference in your box this week because our local produce season is at its best!
This week, we have two new treats from Atlas Farm: spring onions & pickling cucumbers. We also have fresh basil from Happy Valley Organics, and spring kohlrabi from a new local farm partner in Rochester, MA.
Read this week’s newsletter to see what’s fresh and in season, and to get great recipe ideas for the items in your box!