2020 Sustainable Business of the Year Awards
Missed the 2020 Awards Celebration?
Watch Part 1 and Part 2 of the Celebration below to see our panel of Awardees be interviewed by NPR’s Robin Young!
A full list with descriptions and videos of the 2020 Awardees are given below.
2020 Sustainable Business of The Year Awardees
Farm of Western MA
Barstow’s Dairy Farm and Store
Barstow's Longview Farm and Barstow's Dairy Store and Bakery is owned and operated by sixth and seventh generation Barstow’s. The farm provides the best possible care to their cows yielding healthier animals, better quality milk, higher milk yields, and reduced vet bills. Barstow's uses rotational cropping, cover crops, and, in 2019, completed a four year transition to becoming 100% no-till on their 450 acres of wide open Massachusetts farmland.
The farm's anaerobic digester converts the energy potential of food waste and cow manure into radiant heat for their homes and barns, a chemical free fertilizer for their fields, and electricity for 1,600 homes! Consequently, the digester diverts food waste from landfills, reduces chemical fertilizer use, reduces farm odor, reduces reliance on heating oil, enhances soil health and crop yields, and offsets Barstow's carbon hoofprint by 85%.
Barstow's Longview Farm is a part of the Cabot AgriMark Cooperative. Steven Barstow II is proud to sit on the Cabot Sustainability Committee.
Farm of Central MA
World Farmer’s, Flats Mentor Farm
Flats Mentor Farm (FMF) was founded in 1984 and is located on a 77-acre river bottom parcel of land in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Run by World Farmers, a non-profit organization that provides farmers assistance in sustainable production and marketing practices for their crops, FMF has provided the space, infrastructure, mentoring, and hands-on assistance to support beginning small immigrant and refugee farmers of diverse ethnic backgrounds.
FMF promotes sustainable farming methods. With the help of a farm manager, sustainability coordinator, and the entire World Farmers team, farmers at the Flats have access to shared and individual resources, as well as hands-on-training and technical assistance on soil fertility, irrigation, pest and weed management, and marketing. The World Farmers’ Mentoring Program offers regular training programs in agricultural production, business development, and marketing for farmers that seek to make a new life for themselves while preserving their cultural identity.
Farm of Eastern MA
Farmer Dave’s
David Dumaresq has long been a steward of the land, from his time in the Peace Corps where he served as a crop extensionist in Ecuador to purchasing his own 80-acre farm in 2006 in Dracut, Massachusetts. Dave now grows a wide variety of crops including apples, blueberries, raspberries and herbs. The farm has a vibrant CSA consisting of over 900 families as well as operating a successful farm stand and a farmer’s market.
The farm is managed by a diverse team of farmers, primarily led by women who bring knowledge of different farming methods from their home countries.
Farmer Dave’s is committed to incorporating sustainable practices wherever possible. The farm has installed solar and geothermal energy, and uses green manure, a sustainable compost that makes for a valuable mulch and soil amendment. The CSA has been using reusable boxes since 2008, and has saved over 20,000 cardboard boxes per year since then. The farm also maintains a system of Integrated Pest Management, for crops such as sweet corn, that includes protection of beneficial insects, bio-controls, weekly scouting of fields for pests, and well- timed application of only the safest pesticides when needed. About 95% of Farmer Dave’s vegetables are grown without synthetic sprays.
Medium-Sized Business Western MA
UMass 5 Credit Union
UMassFive College Federal Credit Union has been a valued contributor since the organization’s founding in 1967, providing banking services as a non-profit cooperative financial institution. It operates exclusively for the benefit of its members. Today, UMassFive continues to support the long-term growth of its tight-knit community, contributing to numerous sustainability initiatives and promoting business practices that address climate change.
UmassFive is an essential sponsor of CSA farm loan programs. In addition, it offers its members residential solar loans for the purchase and installation of "PV" systems to low-income residents. UMassFive minimizes its environmental impact in a variety of ways, such as providing eco-friendly single-use tableware at the bank and at community events.
Community service and small business development are central to the bank’s social mission. UMassFive and its employees give back to the community by donating cold-weather clothing to local shelters, and they most recently won a local business fundraising challenge in support of cancer research. They offer complimentary workshops and seminars to their members so that they are well-informed to make their important financial decisions.
Medium-Sized Business Eastern MA
Gentle Giant Moving
With over 40 years of experience, the Giants of Gentle Giant know exactly what it takes to complete a successful relocation. They also know how to inspire action in their communities, and it shows in the numerous awards and recognition that they deservedly receive; among them for their achievements in high client satisfaction, and as a green and sustainable leader that employs and exemplifies the good will that supports these efforts.
The company is fully committed to environmental responsibility and they were one of the first Massachusetts companies to complete the Sustainable Business Leader Program (SBLP)-- the SBN green business certification program. Gentle Giant has consistently looked for ways to reduce their carbon footprint and they were re-certified by the SBLP in 2018. An example of their green practices include their Bike Moves program that takes trucks out of the equation and gives customers a bicycle option for local moving.
Gentle Giant's commitment to their employees and their wellness, and their charitable giving have inevitably contributed to their success, distinguishing them from their competition as not just any moving service, but a green, fair and socially responsible organization.
Seasoned Small Business Western MA
Sutter Meats
Sutter Meats is owned and operated by husband and wife team Terry and Susan Ragasa who are committed to preserving the traditional craft of butchery, and educating the community about the importance of eating locally.
Sutter Meats is well-known for their quality of meats, sourcing sustainably-raised meat from local family farms in the Pioneer Valley. At Sutter Meat, the butchers strive to make use the whole animal, and emphasize the need to source humanely raised and healthy livestock that gives rise to better-tasting and more flavorful meat.
The local Northampton specialty butcher shop specializes in an assortment of sausages, charcuterie, deli meats, smoked meats and stocks that are all made in house.
Seasoned Small Business Eastern MA
Cambridge Naturals
Cambridge Naturals was founded in 1974 by Michael Kanter and Elizabeth Stagl as a simple health food store that offered fruits, vegetables and frozen goods. Together they believed that they could help people improve their lives by offering their community the best choices of holistic products and healthy lifestyle supplies.
As part of their vision to create a more equitable and sustainable world, they did just that and their vision has resulted in a successful family-owned business with two operating stores, in Cambridge and Brighton. They are committed to sourcing products locally, organically, and ethically and a portion of their profits are donated annually to social justice and environmental organizations.
Budding Small Business Western MA
Mexirico
Restaurant owner, Emma Febo, has reimagined how exotic cuisine and food preparation can highlight Springfield’s significant immigrant population and growing cultural diversity. With the help of her dedicated family, Emma makes a conscious effort to integrate locally grown produce into various aspects of sustainability and environmental awareness.
MexiRico has engaged community partners in local food sourcing to offer their customers the freshest ingredients from nearby farms and community gardens. In addition, free hot meals have been made available to the homeless, thanks to Emma, and she continues to work on making her cold meals accessible through SNAP benefits. MexiRico connects people with local resources, such as legal assistance, education programs, faith organizations, and healthy food sourcing.
Through their leadership and passion, MexiRico’s work in promoting a community-centered culture is perfectly aligned with the SBN’s own mission to grow the sustainable economy movement.
Budding Small Business Eastern MA
Tanám
Tanám's unique experience involves communal dining interwoven with personal, historical, cultural, and social storytelling. The Filipinx-American worker-owned restaurant that offers delicious Filipino food and cocktails, started up in 2019 and seeks to present stories that don't often get told, shared by the people who live those stories.
From its inception, Tanám has aimed to bring racial equity, labor justice, and environmental justice to the forefront of every decision it makes as a QPOC-majority owned worker-cooperative. The restaurant sources its ingredients locally wherever possible, and works to reduce food waste through their pre-reservation dining format.
While this year has been particularly challenging for local restaurants and catering, Tanám has pivoted from its communal and in-person dining to offering delivery and takeout of its Kamayan boxes, cocktail kits and holiday packages that strive to bring the Black and Filipinx American traditions, cuisine and storytelling to the home.
Keep the Legacy Alive Business Award
City Feed and Supply
City Feed and Supply has been serving its community of Jamaica Plain for over 20 years. Started by co-founders David Warner and Kristine Cortese in the late 1990s, City Feed and Supply is an organic-oriented store, a neighborhood deli and cafe well-known for its unique selection of natural foods, specialty goods, fair trade products and local goods.
Apart from providing its community with delicious bites and coffee, the local store partners with local groups and non-profit organizations that are involved in projects related to hunger relief, organic farming, and community arts and culture among others.
City Feed and Supply has store locations at Centre Street and Boylston Street, and has made a number of adaptations to its store in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, including launching online ordering for pickup and delivery. SBN is proud to recognize the ways in which City Feed and Supply gives back to its community, and the resilience that this local business has shown through the pandemic to continue to be here for its community.
Check out City Feed and Supply’s blogpost to learn more about how they have adapted to COVID-19.
Resilient Sustainable Business Award
Haley House Bakery Cafe
Haley House a beloved organization with a long history of serving Boston residents, originated in 1966 as a soup kitchen. Even today, nearly 60 years later, people experiencing homelessness or food insecurity are provided with breakfast and lunch on most days at the original location in the South End (23 Dartmouth Street).
Haley House offers food and extensive affordable housing support, runs a social enterprise bakery café in Nubian Square, as well as a farm and a schoolyard garden in the middle of the city.
Haley House’s mission is to use food with the purpose and power of community to break down barriers between people, empower individuals, and strengthen neighborhoods by challenging beliefs that perpetuate inequality, as well as to build communities and connections across boundaries.
2020 Sustainable Business Award Sponsors
