Cheers to 100 Years!
As one prominent, locally-based company wraps up their 100th year in business, we’d like to recognize their continued contributions to strengthening the local food economy here in Boston, as well as the whole New England region.
We are so proud to have a strong relationship with Katsiroubas Brothers Produce, a company that shares our value of fresh, sustainably-produced food, and has been built upon this, constantly adapting new technology to provide their customers with the highest quality produce available.
The partnership between Freight Farms and Katsiroubas Brothers seems like a no-brainer. In an ideal world, Katsiroubas Brothers would source all of their produce locally, however, the scale of the business requires a large volume of produce, so KB must source from all across the globe to meet the demand of the customer base.
Transporting produce such long distances has a significant impact on both the environment and the costs accrued by Katsiroubas Brothers. Additionally, quality of the produce is vulnerable to fickle weather or the loss of freshness during transport. As the demand for local, fresh produce continues to rise dramatically, the company works with farms in the region to meet this demand, but is often limited by the the various constraints faced by small farmers in New England - volume capabilities or those pesky things we call seasons. Enter Freight Farms.
Katsiroubas Brothers has the distinction of being one of the original bunch of Freight Farmers. With over a year of growing in their freight farm under their belt, the KB farm has been tailored specifically to their needs, and they are able to grow what is in highest demand given the current market. With a farm situated just outside their warehouse door, they have eliminated the need for middlemen and multiple channels of transport, thereby drastically increasing the shelf life, significantly lowering shipping costs, and cutting their carbon footprint immensely. An added bonus? Being able to give their buyers - restaurants, hotels, and hospitals - the story behind the food: we grew this specialty lettuce right here in our ‘backyard’! This sounds like a win-win-win to us, and KB thinks so, too.
A large food distributor like KB faces many challenges, mainly the difficulties that accompany procuring fresh produce throughout the off-season. Despite the primary growing season in New England being over in the blink of an eye, the demand for fresh, local produce does not slow down during the seemingly endless winter, especially as more and more individuals are becoming aware of the journey their food took from farm-to-fork. Freight Farms offers a simple solution to this issue. Food distributors now have multiple options instead of sourcing from warmer climates on other continents. They may choose to locate a farm on-site to harvest themselves and distribute to their customers, or, they are able to source directly from a network of freight farmers in the surrounding area. Either of these options allow a distributor to significantly cut the cost of food miles, reduce their carbon footprint a great deal, and best of all - stimulate and strengthen the local food economy, benefiting their community directly.
We look forward to continuing to grow with Katsiroubas Brothers in the years to come. Cheers to another 100 years!