Archive | Purpose RSS feed for this section

You can read along with the Clover book club

By on 13 June, 2013 in Purpose, Team, Training

IMG_8859

Clover managers are in a little book club together. Want to read along with us? Get yourself a copy of Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us.

Have you read this? It’s about the processed food industry and links to the obesity epidemic. I think it’s going to raise some interesting questions among our leaders. What does “processed” food really mean? Why does it taste so good? Can we glimpse a future where fast-food is A.) not processed, B.) accessible price-wise to everyone, C.) delicious?

Some of us are reading on a fleet of Kindles, others have the hard copy. If you want to join, start reading. Leave your comments here.

 

 

Comments { 0 }

Clover comic book (yes that’s Mr. Pita in the corner)

By on 15 August, 2012 in Design, Environmental, History, Purpose, Team, Training, Values

Antoria (HSQ) here. You might have heard we’re doing a lot of training right now. Part of the new training program for team members is a comic book about Clover’s history, values, and purpose. New hires will be issued the comic book on their first day at Clover.

I found out early on that Ayr and I share a love for comics. I was eager to make a comic for Clover. A superhero comic where we save the world by becoming conscious of what we eat. It’s what made me fall in love with Clover in the first place, so I figured it would be a walk in the park. It turned out to be a longer walk than expected. I’ve forgotten how rusty I have become over many years of not using a skill I once lived to express. So I have been working on the story and the layout off and on for the past 6 months.

Here’s a sketch of what I’m thinking for the cover. Soon I’ll get this inked and colored, and we’ll be on our way to a completed comic book.

Comments { 2 }

CSA share: Lindentree Farm, Lincoln

By on 8 June, 2012 in Boston Common (PRK), Boston University Bridge (BUB), City Hall (GOV), Cleveland Circle, CSA, Customers, Development (DEV), Greenway (DWY), Harvard Square, HUB, Location, Longwood Medical (LMA), MIT, Purpose, Suppliers

Lindentree dropped off their first shares at the HUB Wednesday. This was the first CSA I ever belonged to, so in a sense they provided the inspiration for this program. I started thinking: this CSA thing is so great, why didn’t I do it when I lived in Cambridge? And what can we do more broadly that would make CSAs mainstream, I mean 1 of 3 people living in the city participating sort of mainstream.

I waited a couple of years on the waiting list before a spot opened up at Lindentree. I’d met this apple farmer Rosslyn Harris through Clover. He told me Lindentree grew the best tasting vegetables he’d ever had, and that stuck with me.

This week those who signed up for Lindentree received:

  • French breakfast radishes (not sure why they’re called that)
  • Head of lettuce
  • Pint of Strawberries
  • Broccoli
  • Kale
  • Flowers
  • Bok choy
  • Another asian vegetable I don’t know the name of

What are you cooking up with your share? Farm share drop offs are happening at Clover HUB (1075 Cambridge St.) all summer long, a different farm each day of the week. We’re so excited it’s really happening.

Comments { 0 }

That’s not our muffin

By on 15 July, 2010 in Menu, Nutritionals, Purpose, Training

I’m a pain when I go into food shops these days. I’m afraid I’m driving the staff crazy, and I know I’m driving my friends crazy. I’m always in research mode. 100% of the time.

Right now I have muffins on my mind. I suspect we can improve ours. But it’s going to take some serious development work. To start with we’re doing what we always do, talking to you all and asking what you think. What do you like about our muffins? What’s letting you down?

So that muffin there, it’s from Peet’s. And the poor guy behind the counter had to dig out the nutrition book from who knows where and look it up for me. Try asking for nutritionals at your favorite fast food shop. You’ll quickly start feeling like you’re not suppose to be asking those questions.

This bad boy: 580 calories, 30 grams of fat. That’s right: 580 calories! You may not know what that means, but I’ve been looking at this stuff a lot. That’s just crazy. That’s more calories and more fat than a Big Mac. No seriously, it is. Look it up. Or one and a half servings of our french fries!! That’s right. Eating that muffin is like ordering our fries, eating them all by yourself, then stealing your friends and eating half of his.

Our banana muffins have around 216 calories, 8 g fat, and 6 g protein. Sorry, haven’t gotten around to putting that up yet. Best of all, they’re 100% whole grains (whole wheat flour, oat bran, wheat germ). But do they taste good? If they don’t we need to change them, I don’t care how healthy they are for you…

Comments { 18 }

FreshDirect visit

By on 30 November, 2009 in Operations, Purpose, Training

IMG_2308

This morning at 6am I met a friend Jim at FreshDirect’s distribution center in Queens. Seems like we’re not the only ones who get started before Dunkin Donuts opens.

We’re working through many design decisions as we prototype out Clover food trucks. I’m deep trying to figure out what type of containers to use, how we should pack and transport our food, how to make sure everything is secure, how to clean trucks, how to gas trucks, etc. Nobody is running food trucks at scale, and certainly not the way we envision our trucks. So we look to our closest analogues for help: UPS, Post Office… FreshDirect.

For those of you who haven’t lived in NYC, FreshDirect is online grocery delivery, except that most of their stuff is more FRESH than what you find on grocery shelves, and sourced DIRECT from growers, etc. It’s a wildly popular service in NYC for everything from fresh produce to beer to pre-made meals.

Continue Reading →

Comments { 0 }

Fruits and berries in season

By on 9 August, 2009 in Menu, Purpose, Training

At brunch today you’ll find blueberries, plums, and figs. Berries are beautiful right now and early stone fruit is ripe. And of course the corn in the corn fritters is getting sweeter and sweeter.

Comments { 1 }

Meeting farmers

By on 6 April, 2009 in Menu, Purpose, Training

I’m at a meeting titled “think globally plant locally.” I should be doing more of these things. Hard to find the time.
Some of you (those who have talked to me) know that I rely heavily on Tony Russo of Russo’s distributors for our produce. He knows most larger growers in the Northeast and has been a super resource. A one stop shop for local produce etc. He’s introduced me to Vermont Soy for example, an integrated farm that is making the best soy milk I’ve ever had. He’s helped he find pickles from a producer in Worcester that are great. Parsnips from Hadley. Shitake from Williamstown. I could go on…
Anyway, as much as we love Tony we hope to develop some direct relationships as we grow. Rolando and I have talked that about his role, as we grow, would include purchasing as well as menu. Unconventional for fast food, but makes total sense to us.
Anyway I’m learning about Blue Heron Farm, The Food Project, and others.

Comments { 1 }

Liquiteria

By on 2 January, 2009 in History, Menu, Purpose, Training

A certain Juice Guy turned me onto Liquiteria on my last trip to NYC. Now my mind is racing with new juice ideas. Those of you who have been following might have remembered a few older posts where I dropped hints of my big plans for juice. One of my killer recipes is carrot kumquat. Another involves granny smith apples, lime juice, and beets.

I’m more committed than ever to juice as a core offering at Clover. The drink I had at Liquiteria was called “the killer xx.” And I just loved the cayenne in the drink. Now all of the sudden I’m thinking of subtle herb and spice-powered concoctions. This is going to be fantastic.

Continue Reading →

Comments { 2 }

We do tons of organic

By on 3 December, 2008 in Menu, Purpose, Training

It’s not that we want it to be secret, but we haven’t been saying anything about organic. We want feedback on the food right now. We’re not looking to impress people with anything but taste right now.

So here it is, you’ve been eating organic:

  • Milk
  • Eggs
  • Sour cream
  • Tahini
  • Chickpeas
  • Hummus
  • Tomatoes
  • Jams
  • Oatmeal
  • Sugar
  • Granola
  • Cranberries
  • Bananas
  • Tempeh (BLT)
  • Vinegar
Comments { 1 }

Homework

By on 5 August, 2008 in Brand, Environmental, Purpose

Brian Collins gave me some homework:

  1. Write a couple of paragraphs that describe why Clover needs to exist
  2. Clip dozens of magazines and make 2 piles: (a) More of (b) Less of
Here’s part one of that homework, the manifesto. It’s funny, I’m reading it now (having written it a month ago) and have a ton of criticism. Time to iterate this.

We all know we should eat more vegetables, so why don’t we? We know we would be healthier, have more energy, and maybe even live longer. We know we’d be combating global warming. And we know farmers in our communities grow fantastic vegetables. And what’s more, most of us aspire to eat more vegetables. So why don’t we?

Clover will be the “how.” Clover will be how people get fresh vegetables, seasonal vegetables. Service will be prompt, and the food always just cut. Prices will be affordable. Clover will be how folks learn more about their local growers. It’ll be a place where people feel comfortable. Clover will be a place of trust. Clover will enable people to fall in love with vegetables again, or for the first time.

By helping people to understand that eating can mean something, Clover will become a hub for an emerging movement. This movement doesn’t yet have a name, but is clearly starting to simmer. It’s about real and uncomplicated food that tastes fantastic. This movement is about moving beyond false trade-offs and taking action that is fun, feels great, is good for the environment, good for your health, and good for your neighbors.

And if this all works, we’ll be living in an America that in 20 years provides a dietary example for the world of which we can all be proud. We’ll be conquering obesity, tackling diabetes, beating heart disease, measuring a sharp reduction in cancer rates. Our food-related carbon footprint will be cut in half. And we’ll be surrounded by vibrant networks of local and regional farms that deliver fantastic fresh healthy food. Our Clover fruit juice cups will be empty, and we’ll be smiling.

Comments { 0 }