Late July Organic Snacks

Late July Coupons!

 

Our friends at Stonyfield Farms are helping promote the new movie Food, Inc. Visit their site to see the Food, Inc. trailer and get some great coupons for Stonyfield, Late July and other organic products! Thanks, Stonyfield!

School's Out, Time to Change the World!

 

With the last day of school fast approaching (Stephen, pictured above is already wearing his "school's out" t-shirt), it's time to start thinking (panicking) about things to do with the kids.  Along with camp, plenty of beach days and down time with friends, I wanted to tell everyone about another interesting outlet for all that free time.

Through our partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute on our new mini endangered animal cookies I've learned a lot about her great kid's program called Roots & Shoots.  Roots & Shoots groups give kids (and their parents) a way to get involved in their own communities on issues that interest them like animals, clean playgrounds or the environment.  Summertime is the perfect time to join a Roots & Shoots group in your area or start your own with friends.  I love this quote from Dr. Jane Goodall describing the idea behind Roots & Shoots,

"Roots creep underground everywhere and make a firm foundation.  Shoots seem very weak, but to reach the light they can break open brick walls.  Imagine that the brick walls are all the problems we have inflicted on our planet.  Hundreds of thousands of roots & shoots, hundreds of thousands of young people around the world, can break through these walls.  We can change the world."

When the going gets tough...get a puppy.

 

Life has been pretty rough around here lately...so we decided to get a puppy.  After a couple of days I was nervous that we'd made a HUGE mistake.  My husband and I are busy running the company and have two kids and one dog already, but as I look into his little puppy eyes, I know we did the right thing.  He has brought much needed cheer to our home and office.  We call him Easy (as in The Big Easy and Easy Rider) and hope his "easy-going" personality is here to stay.

I also wanted to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support after my father passed away. Everyone's calls, emails and letters have been a great source of comfort.  If you're ever on Cape Cod, please stop into our company store (the address is on the left sidebar) and say hello.  You can meet Easy and Teddy, the original dog on our packaging!

Stephen F. Bernard (1947 - 2009)

I'm heartbroken to report that my father, the founder of Cape Cod Potato Chips, Chatham Village Foods and Late July's co-founder, died Saturday morning.  Thank you for your kindness and for taking time to share stories about how he touched your lives.  His legacy will live on in all the food products he created and everyone at Late July will work hard every day to honor that legacy.  As a final tribute, you will find an illustration of him on the front of our new cookies spending time with my mother, his dog and his grandsons. 

 

Steve Bernard

Founder of Cape Cod Potato Chips & Legendary Entrepreneur

Steve Bernard, a man who lived life to its absolute fullest and was never told what to do, died peacefully looking into the eyes of his lifelong sweetheart during the sunrise of Saturday morning, March 7^th, 2009.  He was 61.

 

A tireless hard-worker who would never give up on anyone or anything.  A champion of the underdog, the Briard dog and the hair of the dog.  A competitive, compassionate, contrarian.  A food lover, a wine lover, and an organic gardener.  A family man who loved running, golfing, gambling, Notre Dame football, and a good game of mini golf with his grandsons.  A fearless, incredibly humble, force-of-nature of a man who could only be stopped by terminal cancer.

 

Steve Bernard’s most famous accomplishment is how he revolutionized the food industry and inspired thousands of other small businesses when he founded Cape Cod Potato Chips in 1980.  His first of three successful food businesses that he founded.  He was an entirely self-made man who lived a life with no regrets, and was only sorry that he won’t be around to take his beloved grandsons fly-fishing and golfing.

 

Born on August 25, 1947 in Concord, New Hampshire the youngest of five to Sergius and Mary, he was a rebellious, independent spirit from an early age proudly standing up many a larger football player on the field or bully on the playground.  After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Economics in 1969 he set out with his friend on an adventure that would last several years.  Hitchhiking across the country, they fought forest fires in Alaska, sailed from New England to the Turks & Caicos, lived in a pipe in Puerto Rico, raised chickens on a farm, and worked on a tuna fishing boat off New Bedford, MA.

After returning to Cape Cod in 1971, he reconnected with the love of his life Lynn, who he met years before at the Newport Folk Festival, and they decided to get married.  It was Lynn who introduced Steve to the natural food business when she opened her health food store in 1978.  They weathered many storms together and he would be the first to say that she was his lighthouse until the very end.

On July 4, 1980 with absolutely no knowledge of how to make potato chips, he opened the doors of Cape Cod Potato Chips.  That winter he nearly lost it all when a motorist drove through the front window of the small factory barely missing his wife and 8-year-old daughter. But because of the publicity and the insurance money the business began taking off and by the next summer, there were lines out the door.  Over the next few years, the company grew to national distribution.  Along the way, Steve has helped countless others get their start, including many people who would later become competitors.  He loved to give tours of the factory and took great pride in helping other entrepreneurs.

 

He eventually sold Cape Cod Potato Chips to Anheuser-Busch, bought it back and subsequently sold it again to Lance in 1999.  In between, he opened a sandwich shop in 1988, which led to the founding of Chatham Village Foods in 1990.  Chatham Village made gourmet croutons and also gained international distribution.

By 1999, he had sold Cape Cod Potato Chips and Chatham Village Foods and retired to Sanibel Island, Florida.  In 2001, his only child and much-adored protégé, Nicole lured him out of his hard-earned retirement to co-found Late July Organic Snacks.  They officially opened their doors in 2003 and worked side by side, often with his grandchildren crawling between them, until his passing.  He viewed Late July as his last, great business contribution and was pleased that it allowed him to pass his knowledge to his daughter.

He was extremely proud of the many food products he created, but his favorite remained the original, lightly salted kettle-cooked potato chip.  He was ever the perfectionist when it came to his products and nothing bothered him more in life than when his product didn’t come out just right.  A plant manager’s worst nightmare, but a customer’s best friend.

 

Survivors include his wife of 37 years Lynn, his daughter Nicole and son-in-law Peter,  hisgrandsons Stephen and Benjamin, his brothers Sergius, Jude and Jimmy, his sister Virginia, his sisters-in-law Darby, Gretchen, Diane, Nancy, Nilda, and  Sharon, his brothers-in-law L.J., Kenneth, Damien and Peter, his mother-in-law Theresa, his nieces and nephews, his many lifelong friends and his four Briards.  His parents, Sergius and Mary, his father-in-law Leni and his beloved dog Benny preceded him in death.

 

In lieu of flowers, it was his desire that you make a donation to the Jimmy Fund (www.jimmyfund.org), his favorite charity, and that you go out and make a sizable purchase from your favorite small food business.  The wake will be held Friday, March 13th  from 4-8pm at the John Lawrence Funeral Home in Marstons Mills, MA and a celebration of his life will be held Saturday, March 14th at 10am at the Cotuit Federated Church.

Proudly Introducing!!! Organic Mini Whole Grain Sandwich Cookies!!!

 

 

My two young sons and I created these new mini cookies together.  I wanted them to have whole grains and calcium and they wanted them to help animals!  I've tried to raise my sons to have a strong bond with animals and nature and to treat all living things with respect.  Continuing to nurture this bond is why we decided to feature endangered animals on our new cookies, why we're donating 10% of profits to the Jane Goodall Institute and why we only produce USDA certified organic products. 

 

We hope you enjoy our deliciously Good cookies:

Good Source of Whole Grains (8g per serving)! 

Good Source of Calcium (10% DV)!

Good for the Earth - Organic!

"Good For All" Seal - Dr. Jane Goodall's seal for ethically produced products!

 

Our new cookies will begin appearing on store shelves over the next few weeks.  Be sure to beg your local store to order them!  Also, we will be posting more about our amazing partner, The Jane Goodall Institute, their Roots & Shoots program and information about each of the endangered animals on our cookies so check back.

 

To learn more about our ingredients or to see the nutrition facts click here to download an information sheet or call 888-85-SNACK. 

 

All Late July's products are 100% safe and our peanut butter is NOT affected by the recall. - INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS

Our peanut butter is made by Sunland, Inc and is unequivocally NOT involved in the recall. 

Late July has extremely strict criteria for taste, organic compliance and food safety when finding a new supplier.  We require certificates of analysis from an outside lab, facility audits, customer references and the ability to personally inspect their facility.  As a small, family company we take our responsibility of making food for other families very seriously and must feel satisfied that each supplier we work with meets our criteria. 

When we were first looking for peanut butter there were very few certified organic suppliers of peanut butter that met our criteria.  Also, despite the higher cost, we demanded that our supplier guarantee that they would never use peanuts from China.  We were not comfortable with sourcing organic ingredients from China because of our concerns about both food safety and organic compliance (and this was before all of the recent Chinese food manufacturing problems).  Finally, we found Sunland, Inc.  They are certified USDA organic, kosher, do not source peanuts from China and their testing methods exceed FDA requirements.   Additionally, they make delicious, award-winning peanut butter.

Sunland, Inc.is based in Portales, New Mexico and was formed in 1988 by a group of peanut farmers.  They process all their peanut butter at their own facility.  For over 20 years they have been growing and manufacturing delicious peanut butter to supply direct to consumers and to manufacturers like Late July.  We are very proud to have Sunland as an ingredient partner.  If you have any additional questions about Sunland or our peanut butter, please don't hesitate to ask. 

For an up to date list of products and companies included in the recall visit the FDA's website.

For an up to date list of products and companies NOT included in the recall visit the American Peanut Council's website.

Late July's Products are NOT part of the recall - INFORMATION FOR RETAILERS.

Thank you for taking the time to visit our website to learn more about Late July and our peanut butter products.  We have prepared some information that you can share with your customers to assure them that Late July's products are 100% safe to eat.  Please let us know if you would prefer to have these files emailed or sent to you. 

Here is a shelf tag that you can place on or near our product.

Download Safe PB shelf talker  

Here is a copy of an informational flyer for consumers, retailers and distributors.  

Download Late July's Peanut Butter is NOT affected by the recall - Bullet Points

Here is a copy of the letter from Sunland, Inc., our exclusive peanut butter supplier.

Download Letter from Sunland CEO & President 011909

Late July's Ingredients - The Highest Standard

Every time I look at my two children I think about what an honor it is for people to give our snacks to their children.  That is why my family and I have decided to be as transparent as possible about the ingredients we use in our products.  My family's over 25 years of experience in the food industry has given us incredible insight and we think everyone has a right to know exactly where their food is coming from.  Once a month we will choose an ingredient to spotlight and describe in detail where it comes from and how it's made. 

"Eat This, Not That" Author a Genius

The author of Eat This Not That, David Zinczenko  recommends better choices when eating.  When choosing Late July cookies over other leading brands you can save up to 10 pounds of potential weight gain every year!  And our cookies have antioxidants and whole grains.  This guy is clearly a genius.  He talked about us recently on Fox and Friends.

Health, Happiness & Peace for 2009!

 

As we prepare to face the new opportunities and challenges of 2009, we are more committed than ever to our values and creating a better world for our children.  We wish everyone health, happiness & peace in the New Year.