Press
September 2018
Hospital serves saucy solutions for jobs and planet Read More
It was a brisk November morning in Boston. Fall had settled in - orange, yellow, and red leaves littered the ground, and the harvest season in New England was drawing to a close. Despite the time of year, CommonWealth Kitchen was buzzing with activity. Based in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, the organization’s commissary kitchen was busy working to extend the season for regionally-grown food by processing produce from New England farms into purees, sauces, and other food service items.
September 2018
A seat at the table: Jen Faigel's nonprofit serves up opportunities Read More
CommonWealth Kitchen has helped to “graduate” 57 companies — including restaurants, catering services and branded packaged food products — from its programs.
August 2018
Chef setting up a new eatery in Fields Corner gets a boost from a neighbor down the block Read More
The eatery, called 50Kitchen, last year’s winner of the Fields Corner Collaborative Business Pitch Competition, will serve fast-casual fusion-style food inspired by Southern American and Asian American cuisine, courtesy of chef Anthony Caldwell, at its 1452 Dorchester Ave. location.
August 2018
Two Nonprofit Food Operations Receive $668K in State Funding Read More
- Commonwealth Kitchen, which received $168,000, also to purchase specialized equipment for its manufacturing operation that focuses primarily on processing Massachusetts grown and harvested food products.
July 2018
Lazy Bear Tea, made with leftover coffee cherries Read More
When you need a cooling reprieve on a sizzling afternoon, there are plenty of refreshing drinks out there. But there’s a unique one to lately hit the shelves — Lazy Bear Tea, a healthy beverage brewed with cascara (which means husk or peel in Spanish), the leftover coffee cherries, sun-dried once the beans are removed. The company sources the cascara from a small family farm in Nicaragua. The coffee-based tea tastes little like coffee, but more like a light black tea with a copper hue and pleasant sweetness. The line includes three choices —
July 2018
BizGrow draws hundreds Read More
Food businesses in particular are popular ventures, said Lane. To serve that demand, she said, “We offer a 13-week program called Food Biz 101 with Commonwealth Kitchen, which has participation from 60 percent women and 90 percent people of color.”
July 2018
10 trendy foods you’ll soon be seeing everywhere Read More
Sometimes flavors go in or out of fashion for reasons that are hard to explain. Why was watermelon so big last year? Why is cucumber suddenly everywhere this year? I haven’t the faintest idea. It feels very ’90s, like Bath and Body Works cucumber melon lotion, and the ’90s are back in style. That is my very best guess. Anyway, you’ll be drinking a lot of cucumber soon, especially in sparkling beverages: Belvoir Fruit Farms has a cucumber-and-mint lemonade, and Found has a cucumber mint sparkling water. Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Company is selling a cucumber jalapeño juice, and House of Broughton has a cucumber syrup. Bauman’s Best Botanicals has a cucumber-and-spice shrub, Health-Ade Kombucha has a new jalapeño-kiwi-cucumber kombucha, and Dry has cans of cucumber soda. Try ZuMora cucumber mint agua fresca, or GoLive probiotic water in cucumber melon. Pretend you are in a spa! That’s where people drink cucumber.
June 2018
CommonWealth Kitchen Opens a Retail Spot with a Takeout Window in Kendall Square Read More
June 2018
Food delivery startup Nomsly pivots from kids' lunches to the office crowd Read More
Nomsly, a subscription-based food delivery service in Boston, was originally created to offer healthy lunches for kids. But its two founders realized that the food was really being eaten by adults at work.
May 2018
Meet Celeste Croxton-Tate of Lyndigo Spice® in Dorchester Read More
I have always loved to cook since I was a child. As I got older I began cooking for family & friends. I started my catering company in June 2006. I would make Jamaican Jerk chicken with pineapple chutney on the side to stave off the spiciness of the jerk. People would always ask me if they could buy the chutney in stores. I would always tell them “very soon”. When the recession hit in 2008 and everyone started doing potluck dinners instead of catering, I took that time to research how to get my products into stores. I created a whole line of chutneys, relishes, fruit spreads and a spice rub. I wanted to create a product that everyone could enjoy, especially those with special dietary restrictions. All my products are low in sugar & sodium, vegan, gluten free, fat free and preservative free. I use spices and cooking techniques to enhance the natural flavors of the products. I launched my product line November 2014 and started selling wholesale to some Whole Foods stores in the Boston, local cheese shops, farmers markets and my online store.
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