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Northeast Grown, 100% organic, fermented & raw pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, kvass, and hot sauce

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Home / 2016 Annual Report

2016 Annual Report

Fiscal Year ending March 31, 2016




Download PDF – 4.6 MB








Co-op Year Three!

A Year in the Life of a Community Business:
Partnering with the community to build a better food system


Growing Fermentation
With the help of 2 community loan funds, we’re making room to annually ferment 97,00 pounds of additional organic vegetables from Northeast farms!

Community Service Learning
We’re collaborating with engineering students from UMass Amherst to develop ergonomic kitchen techniques and equipment

New Local Ingredient
This year, we partnered with Old Friends Farm to bring you our newest product- Organic Turmeric Kraut!

Committed to Community
We are proud to report that we directed 1.25% of total sales to mission-aligned community organizations this year.

 

Our Mission…

We are committed to promoting human and ecological health by providing people with delicious, nourishing food and by working toward a regional, organic food system

 

PRODUCT & SUPPLY

Farm Profile: Kitchen Garden Farm
Sunderland, MA

Owners Tim and Caroline are food lovers and culinary masters. They are passionate about quality and flavor, both of which come through in all of the vegetables they grow, including uncommon cultivars carefully selected for optimal flavor. Their produce can be found at farmers markets, natural foods stores and restaurants throughout the region. We’re so fortunate to be able to ferment their top quality vegetables for our products!

New Product: Turmeric Kraut!

We’ve long enjoyed using local ginger in our products, grown by the innovative farmers at Old Friends Farm in Amherst, MA. This year we’ve partnered with them to bring you our newest product… Organic Turmeric Kraut! Valued for its warm flavor and health-supporting properties, organic turmeric – combined with black pepper – brings new life to a traditional kraut recipe. A big thank you to Old Friends Farm for their pioneering work in bringing this tropical spice to New England farming!

 

Good Food

Our Organic Garlic Dill Pickles received national recognition this January as tasty, authentic and responsibly produced. Addie Rose and Dan attended the Good Food Awards ceremony in San Francisco to accept Real Pickles’ 4th medal, which was presented by chef Alice Waters. A passionate keynote was delivered by Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food International movement. We are proud to be recognized with this award, and loved this opportunity to get to know some of our fellow pickle makers from across the country!

 

INVESTING IN THE FOOD SYSTEM

Building capacity:

In March, we secured a loan from the Cooperative Fund of New England (CFNE) and PVGrows Investment Fund to build a second floor in our warehouse so that we can ferment an additional 175 barrels of Northeast-grown, organic vegetables at a time! The loan will also support an office expansion and upgrade to a high-efficiency heating system for our kitchen and offices. We are excited to partner with CFNE and PVGrows on these projects. Both organization manage funds that offer individuals an opportunity to invest in great causes: co-operative and a vibrant local food system!

 

PICKLE FOLKS

Workforce leadership:

We received a Workforce Development Leadership Award from the Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board this year for our “public spirit, being visible and active in the community.” The award was the first to a worker co-operative! We’re honored to be recognized for our work creating meaningful jobs in our community.

Creating a healthy workplace:

We’ve been working with mechanical and industrial engineering students from UMass Amherst to develop new production techniques and equipment. Such service learning collaborations provide exciting opportunities to create new appropriate technology that supports small and mid-size producers. The goals also include reducing physical strain for kitchen staff and improving overall efficiency. These projects are a great way to provide students with real world experience, contributing to the work of building a better food system!

New Worker-owner Tamara McKerchie:

“I love being a worker-owner at Real Pickles because it offers me the opportunity to further cultivate a mission I believe in. Having a voice in decision-making for the business is empowering, and allows me to deepen my connection to my workplace community”

Our Owners:
(L to R) Back: Kristin Howard, Andy Van Assche, Heather Wernimont, Dan Rosenberg, Addie Rose Holland. Front: Tamara McKerchie, Brendan Flannelly-King, Annie Winkler

ROOTED IN COMMUNITY

We paid out over $1 million to operate Real Pickles Co-operative last year.

WE SPENT 93% REGIONALLY!

(paid to local/regional businesses and organizations and Real Pickles staff; excludes taxes)

 

Our Staff!
22 employees, 8 worker owners
Our Farmers!
8 farms in Western MA & Southern VT
Our Vendors!
Local, independent businesses, like Baker Office Supply in Greenfield, MA
Mission-aligned organizations!

1.25% of sales went to organizations in the form of charitable donations, sponsorships, food donations, and volunteer service.

 

Fermentation Friends
BFFs at BFF!

Here’s Addie Rose (right) at the Boston Fermentation Festival with our friendly fellow fermenters from Gracie’s Garden, Hosta Hill, Micro Mama’s, and Thirty Acre Farm. Fermentation festivals are sprouting up across the region in celebration of the vast possibilities in fermented food and ever-increasing public interest.

SALES & FINANCIALS

Sales report:

We are pleased to report that we wrapped up our 2016 fiscal year with sales of over $1.1 million, a 12% increase over the previous year and about $40,000 above what we had projected. Our higher than expected sales are due in part to the strong launch in February of our Organic Turmeric Kraut, as well as significant sales growth for Organic Beets and Organic Garlic Kraut.
These results are particularly encouraging given the growing number of fermentation businesses in the marketplace with product lines similar to ours, ranging from small producers to nationally-distributed brands. Overall demand for fermented foods remains strong, and we’re excited to see that our social mission of supporting local farms, regional food systems, co-operative economies and organic agriculture continues to resonate with consumers around the Northeast.

Felix Merkin, future employee and son of a past employee, enjoys an Organic Dill Pickle.
Financial report:

FY’16 was another profitable year for Real Pickles, with net income at $91,428 or 8% of sales.
In allocating our available FY’16 net income, we elected to keep over half in collective reserves to be permanently retained by the co-operative. The remaining net income was directed to worker-owners in the form of patronage dividends, with 75% retained for use by the co-operative. Our decisions to continue to build up our internal equity accounts (collective reserves and retained patronage) reflect the worker-owners’ commitment to invest in the future of Real Pickles, thereby creating opportunities to pursue such goals as investing in facility infrastructure for expanded fermentation capacity, developing ergonomic production equipment, and paying living wages and benefits to our fantastic staff!
We agreed at our May board of directors meeting to pay the 4% target dividend to our preferred shareholders for FY’16. We are ever grateful to our investors for their role in Real Pickles’ successful 2013 transition to a worker co-operative. The annual dividend represents the financial portion of the return on their investments. This annual report aims to provide highlights of the many social returns!

Primary Sidebar

It is with great pleasure to introduce to you a Pi It is with great pleasure to introduce to you a Pickler you can’t help smiling around, meet Jess! Jess came to Real Pickles after years of doing seasonal work on vegetable farms and piecing together winter jobs. They loved the farm work but when they found Real Pickles 4 years ago they decided this was the place for them! 
Jess is a worker-owner with many important roles across each department at Real Pickles. In addition to being on our board of directors and working as a production assistant, they are also responsible for the seamless success of our shipping department, a job they make look effortless. On top of all that, Jess is also the assistant bookkeeper and a huge asset to the sales team!
If there is a birthday or an occasion to celebrate at Real Pickles, Jess makes sure to provide delicious treats that everyone can enjoy, no matter what their dietary needs are! When Jess is not at Real Pickles they are working hard at mastering the yoyo, learning to crochet small animals and collecting VHS tapes and other forms of obsolete media.
We love working with Jess and appreciate all that they bring to the Real Pickles family! 

#MeetThePicklers #RealPickles #PackedWithAMission #fermentedandraw #fermented #peekbehindthemask #organic #pickles #kraut #coop #workerowned #fermentation
YUM! 😋@wheelhouse.farm has paired our Organic G YUM! 😋@wheelhouse.farm has paired our Organic Garlic Kraut with some pork belly pastrami and rosemary on top of one of our favorite bakery's sourdough! 
Reposted from @cisa_localhero:
When #localrestaurants use hand-made ingredients from other #localfarms and #smallbusinesses, that’s a win for our community and our taste buds :) 
Bread by @riseabove_413 Photo by @wheelhouse.farm

#RealPickles #PackedWithAMission #fermented #raw #organic #garlickraut #repost #beautifulfood #hyperlocal #eatlocalfood #naturallyfermented #kraut  #fermentation #northeastgrown
It's Friday which means it's time to introduce you It's Friday which means it's time to introduce you to another member of the Real Pickles team! This week we'd like you to meet Fermentation Manager and worker-owner Katie Korby. In 2011, Katie was farming and looking for a part time job that she could feel good about. She knew she had found her people when, on her first day as a production assistant, folks broke into song while sweeping the floor during cleanup! Katie took some time off when her daughter was born and to help her husband, Stoneman, of @stonemanbrewery , start his brewery in their back yard. When she returned to Real Pickles she took on the role of Fermentation Manager. Katie oversees all aspects of our fermentation process; she tests each batch, develops new recipes, and implements food safety practices and certifications. 
When Katie isn't at Real Pickles she can be found tending her gardens, raising pigs and chickens, knitting, or hanging out and probably baking something with her 6 year old daughter Maggie. Katie is also one of the musicians on staff that play live music to our fermenting vegetables on a weekly basis! Maybe that is one of her secrets for producing such wonderful ferments! 

#MeetThePicklers #RealPickles #PackedWithAMission #fermentedandraw #fermented #peekbehindthemask #organic #pickles #kraut #coop #workerowned #fermentation
@nofamass presents “Food Security for the Common @nofamass presents “Food Security for the Common Wealth” 
Friday JAN 8 - Sunday JAN 10, 2021 
Virtual workshops, intensives, keynote speeches and an online auction with amazing items (including a Real Pickles sampler) to bid on! 
Event registration: https://cvent.me/ZQZ8Nm
Auction: https://go.rallyup.com/wcauction2021

#organicfarming #organic #northeastgrown #nofa #foodsecurity #workshop #auction #fundraising
#TopNine2020 - What a year! Big thanks and love to #TopNine2020 - What a year! Big thanks and love to our farmers, community, supporters and fellow fermenters. Our commitment for 2021 is to continue to promote human and ecological health by providing delicious, nourishing food. We wish everyone a healthy, peaceful, and joy-filled new year! 

#RealPickles #PackedWithAMission #WorkerOwned #naturallyfermented #organic #raw #kraut #pickles #cabbage #sauerkraut #fermentation #northeastgrown #goodfoodaward #cooppeople #gocoop #happynewyear
Make a resolution to start each day with vibrant a Make a resolution to start each day with vibrant and delicious ferments! Thanks @hannahhenderson_ for sharing this beautiful creation with us. Show us your breakfast!

#RealPickles #PackedWithAMission #fermented #raw #organic #avocadotoast #beets #turmerickraut #breakfast #kraut @ithacahummus

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Greenfield, MA 01301
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info@realpickles.com

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