Late July

No no, I am not confused about the date. I may be wishing it was still late July so that we had a little bit more of summer left, but the title of today’s post is about a company that I recently contacted to request samples. Late July Organic Snacks is a Massachusetts based company, and reading the media kit they send along made me a little teary I must admit. The company seems just so good and genuine, and that is something that I really value. I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but I worked for several years in the business ethics field. I saw a lot of corruption there even amongst the “most ethical” businesspeople. This experience has really driven me toward small, family oriented companies, that wear their values on their sleeve and act in accordance with those values daily. Late July is definitely one of those companies. Here is what their website “About us” says:

“Late July Organic Snacks is a family owned and operated company that cares deeply about family and the integrity of our products. Not only are all our products certified USDA organic and proudly wear the organic seal, but on any given day you can find three generations at work including six-year-old Stephen and two-year-old Benjamin. We all hope you enjoy our snacks!”

Late July was founded in 2003 by Nicole Bernard Dawes and her father, the late Steve Bernard, and everywhere you look on their website, you see a commitment to goodness, whether it be in the food they produce or the causes that they support.

If you visit their  home page, the current message is about their sponsorship of The Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk, an annual event in Boston that has thousands of walkers walking the whole marathon route or various parts of it to raise money for Dana Farber, one of the world’s premier cancer centers, and a place that has made miracles happen for many.

Reading the side of the whole grain sandwich cookies that they sent me, I learned that 10% of the proceeds to to The Jane Goodall Institute. Late July was kind enough to send me two boxes of their new mini sandwich cookies in white chocolate and milk chocolate.

Sorry about the flash! I had a really hard time photographing these boxes, but they are so cute and offer a wealth of information about the cookies as well as Late July.

The first thing that I loved about these cookies, besides the social responsibility and commitment to good food that the company practices, was their size. They are so cute!

Plus they have animals on them. I know that my nieces and nephews would absolutely love these, and I would love to give the cookies to them to teach them about good food and protecting animals!

These are the perfect treat. They are sweet and crunchy and really don’t taste like a health food cookie at all. In addition to being really delicious, the sandwich cookies boast the following:

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!

They also have a Whole Grain Council stamp from Oldways Preservation Trust, and organization that is committed to changing the way people eat through practical and positive programs grounded in science, traditions, and delicious foods and drinks.Late July’s sandwich cookies are a great, sweet snack for kids and for kids at heart like me 🙂 As I have mentioned quite a bit lately I need to start snacking more, and I definitely would love to keep a little bag of these at my desk to enjoy with my tea in the afternoon. If you are looking for a back to school snack that you can feel good about and that your kids will be excited about, I encourage you to check out Late July’s site. With snacks as delicious as these, I hope more schools, daycares, and other childcare places really begin to focus on educating kids about fueling with healthy foods. I have worked at a variety of childcare places in my life; it was often horrifying to see the food that was served/that the parents sent!

Even if you don’t have kids or don’t eat cookies, their website is interesting, heartwarming, packed with great values, and a lot of fun! 🙂

By the way, the founder of Late July also founded Cape Cod Potato chips, the BEST beach snack ever! If you have tried them, you know what I mean! A Box Lunch sandwich, some water, and Cape Cod chips = a day at Race Point (Provincetown) beach to me! 🙂