Tony Russo’s first Podcast Interview on his early years in the family business.
Take a listen…
to Tony Russo on his early years working on the family farm alongside his grandparents, father and learning the skills of the family business:
Introducing Russo Boxes
Two months ago, we created Russo Boxes with the simple goal of providing fresh fruits, vegetables and Russo products to our customers in an easy and socially-distanced way. We have wanted to create Russo Boxes for a long time, but this current health crisis made us speed up the process far more quickly than we ever expected.
We have a new Russo Box website where you may select your date and time for curbside pickup. Currently, we have more than 12 Russo Boxes available for curbside pickup with some extra holiday boxes added for special events. Here is a discount code if you would like to try one of our Russo Boxes.
Paul Sullivan, the wealth matters columnist for The New York Times, included Russo’s and Russo Boxes in a recent story about business decisions in this challenging time. The Boston Globe included us in their story about local stores and restaurants offering Curbside Pickup.
We hope that you remain safe and healthy during this very difficult time! We are trying our best during challenging circumstances and we truly appreciate your encouragement, enthusiasm and understanding!
If you have questions about Russo Boxes, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page. Thank you!
Spotlight: Kavita Shukla and her world-changing FreshPaper invention!
Kavita Shukla (L), Tony Russo (middle) and Swaroop Samant (right) when FreshPaper was just beginning.
This month’s Russo’s News Spotlight is on Kavita Shukla who has dramatically changed the fresh food industry for the better with her FreshPaper products!
If you have never heard of FreshPaper, it is a life-extender for fresh produce. The compostable, biodegradable paper is made with a special blend of botanicals that inhibit bacterial and fungal growth — which keeps fruits and vegetables fresh for 2-4 x’s longer! Simply place a sheet of FreshPaper in your refrigerator, fruit bowl or directly into your bag of produce.
Russo’s is one of the first stores in the world to carry FreshPaper and we are so inspired by the work Kavita has done since first introducing her product to Tony Russo many years ago. Kavita had read about Russo’s in a local magazine where Boston chefs had said that they shopped at our store. That magazine story inspired her to take a trip to Watertown.
“I will never forget the first time I walked into Russo’s,” Kavita said. “It was the most beautiful store I had ever seen with mountains of beautiful produce.”
She met Tony Russo at the store and told him about her new product and idea. He was intrigued.
Kavita explained their meeting. “He said to me, ““I’ll take some, can you bring 15 cases by tomorrow?’ And that was so much more than I had ever thought of selling. At that point in time, we were selling one case a month!“
“Your dad took such a leap of faith,” she said. Then she and her co-founder Swaroop Samant stayed up all night fulfilling the order for Russo’s.
“It was such a proud moment for us,” said Kavita. “It was the first time I started to believe that it was possible to do something with my idea, to bring it to fruition. For such a long time, it was such a secret thing that I was working on.”
She aded, “When Tony said ‘This is really interesting,’ for me, it changed my life, it changed the trajectory, it just showed the power of someone who believes in your idea and gave us a chance,” said Shukla.
Shukla and her partner came to Russo’s and did demonstrations and enjoyed watching people pick up her product (“with the stickers that I printed out at home”) at Russo’s.
“Tony give us advice. We knew NOTHING about produce, supply chain, getting your product into retailers. (Tony Russo) would give us advice on our packages, ‘maybe you should put this on the package.’ He was so wonderful and would tell people to come talk to us. Would tell everyone about it.”
One of the earlier versions of FreshPaper at Russo’s.
Originally, Kavita created the product so that farmers could extend the life of their produce. So she and Swaroop went to a local farmers market in the Boston area to sell their handmade products alongside farmers - but the farmers market customers also saw their FreshPaper and they wanted it, too.
Kavita wants to reduce worldwide food waste and FreshPaper is helping to fulfill that mission. FreshPaper is now in more than 100 countries around the globe. Along with FreshPaper for produce, Kavita has also introduced a product for Cheese and a product for fresh-baked Bread. Of course, we carry all of them at Russo’s.
To learn more about Kavita and FreshPaper, here is a recent article from USA Today
or read and watch interviews and Ted Talks with Kavita on her website here
FreshPaper’s current day logo and packaging,
Our Holiday Menu is now available!
Call our Catering Department at 617-719-4107 today to place your Holiday Orders, including New Year’s!
Order your Thanksgiving Turkey today!
This year at Russo’s, we are offering turkeys from Stonewood Farm, which is a family farm located in Vermont. You may read more about them on the below brochure.
To order your turkey order, please fill out the form (see below) and email it to our Catering Department at vmoreira@russos.com or call 617-719-4107. Please call our main number with any questions at 617-923-1500.
Thank you!
Our Thanksgiving Menu is now available!
Take a look at our menu and please call our Catering Department at 617-719-4107 or 617-923-1500 to place your order.
Russo's Celebrates a Century of Business! - Boston Globe
Such a special story! Thank you to the Boston Globe for featuring our family business which celebrates 100 years of business!
Produce Business Magazine wrote about Russo's
Thank you for writing this story about our family business!
https://www.producebusiness.com/safe-space-for-produce-shopping-at-russos/
“Freshness shines at this suburban Boston favorite”
This week's Farmer Focus: Clark Farm in Carlisle
Sunlight sweeps across Clark Farm in Carlisle.
This summer we are thrilled to offer organic products from Clark Farm in Carlisle! We were fortunate to catch up with the farm manager, Andrew Rodgers, who took time from his busy summer schedule to speak with us about farming and some of his favorite items to grow.
Rodgers, 45, has been farming for nearly 20 years. He grew up in Newton and attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for his undergraduate degree and a graduate degree in the soil sciences.
“I wanted a career that benefitted the environment. I was an idealist,” he said. Later, he added, “I’m still an optimist. Growing organically and partnering with Russo's shows that we are on the right path.”
When Rodgers began working at Clark Farm in 2012, he wanted to focus on creating a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture program); working with and hiring local students for employment on the farm; and creating a Certified Organic Farm. He has achieved those goals and now he is expanding many of the products he carries on the farm, such as Asian crops, including Bitter Melon.
“One of the fun parts of being a CSA farmer is that the crop selection evolves with customer demands,” he said, explaining that many of the CSA member are of Indian and Chinese descent. “I love learning to grow new things to me and working with a customer base that’s so excited about their food.”
Rodgers shows us the organic Bitter Melon which is in the last stages of development before harvesting.
Clark Farm has a CSA program, a farm market, as well as Pick-Your-Own options including berries and flowers.
At Russo’s, we are excited about Clark Farm’s expanding certified organic options which we are able to to supple to our customers!
Andrew Rodgers and his daughter Phoebe, who works at Clark Farm Market, walk the fields of Clark Farm in Carlisle.