Once upon a time, Mark and I were dreaming up our ideal company, I grabbed a pad and started designing our dream company. It wasn’t about reaching x market share or x sales, it was about how we wanted it to feel, the culture we wanted to create, and what were things non-negotiable. One of those non-negotiables was sustainability. We started with ingredients, where should we source from? What sorts of farming practices do they have? It’s not easy to be green and we are always looking for ways to improve.  

Ingredients

We are blessed with Midwestern corn and wheat, so they don’t have to travel far. We have visited our farm partners in their fields, and many have come to visit us with their kids and grandkids. We talk shop and build community. When we do import, we source from TAMOA who ethically sources from select farmers in Mexico.

Online Shipping

We ship in recyclable and compostable packaging. Did you know you can eat the corn packaging peanuts and the barrier we use? Food writer Liz Cook wrote this fun story.

Food Waste

We are committed to reducing food waste. When we make tortillas that do not meet our specifications, they get donated to shelters where they are utilized to make enchiladas. Vegetable ends are used for stocks and anything else gets composted.

Research

We contribute to research being done at the University of Missouri. They plant heirloom corn varieties and after harvest get sent to Yoli. We test corn and its properties to see if its suitable for tortilla making. That data gets put in a sharable database for farmers to see if they planted a certain variety of corn, who would be willing to buy it. Our purpose is to promote corn diversity in farming practices.

What’s next?

Last year, while talking about the Farm Bill in Washington, D.C. I met Anthony Mint, co-founder of Zero Foodprint which mobilizes local food economies to restore the climate, one dollar and one acre at a time. They work with businesses like ours to crowdfund money to give grants to farmers to sequester carbon (aka fight climate change). I was so impressed that today I’m excited to share that our Yoli Westside location has signed up to contribute to Zero Foodprint. We are excited to be the first in the state of Missouri and looking forward to seeing Zero Foodprint grow all over the nation.  

So much more to come, stay tuned…