Jar Goods Brings Tomato Sauces and Clean Eating to New Heights

Have you tried Jar Goods? Jar Goods is a new brand of clean-label tomato sauces & pestos changing the pasta sauce industry. You might think you know pasta sauce- this these flavors take your tastebuds on a whole new level!

As a food writer, I get to try many items, and I was thrilled with Jar Goods tomato sauces!
I used them on gnocchi, fresh pasta, in lasagna, in chili, and in chicken parm, and these clean flavors do not disappoint. They are like my Italian grandmom used to make, and then better. 

With the pasta sauce market estimated to reach $4.6 billion by 2026, consumers are betting on small batch, craft, emerging food brands. In fact, Jar Goods’ sales grew 55% over the previous year in 2019, and so far in 2020, our e-commerce has grown 568% over the same period last year.

Here are some flavorful reasons we’re growing so rapidly:

· Vegan Vodka Sauce: Our Vegan Vodka is the only sauce of it’s kind to use coconut milk, making it a dairy-free, full-bodied indulgence.

· The Best Kind of Spicy: Our Classic Spicy was voted as “Best Spicy” by Men’s Health, made with sweet vine-ripened tomatoes, nutty olive oil, fresh onions, garlic, basil and zesty black and red pepper.

· More Flavor: Our sauces use 72% more tomatoes, olive oil, and are more flavorful than other brands.

Over the last 50 years, “traditional” store-bought pasta sauces have gotten far from tradition. Most sauces on today’s shelves lack flavor, innovation, and are full of preservatives-- nothing like what Grandma used to make. 

With today’s consumers craving real food that’s conveniently packaged, and the pasta sauce market estimated to reach $4.6 billion by 2026, it’s an industry ripe for flavorful change. 

That’s where Jar Goods comes in.

Try Jar Goods, you will be eating fresh clean sauces that add amazing flavor to all your dishes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Christine Tarlecki is a local food and lifestyle writer, seeking out the best bites in the area and writing about them. She pens an award-winning food & lifestyle blog, Engchik Eats, at engchik.blogspot.com and teaches small business social media marketing classes. And don’t miss the new Engchik Eats #podcast at https://anchor.fm/engchikeatsbychristinet Christine can be reached at engchik@gmail.com and under @engchik on all social media. #LocalLove

 

 

Vanguard’s All Cans on Deck Makes a Difference in the Community

Vanguard celebrated its 22nd annual two-week long “All Cans on Deck” food drive, which started June 13, and provided more than 2.3 million meals globally to local hunger relief agencies and non-profit organizations in the surrounding areas where our crew live and work (Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Arizona). Donations were gathered across Vanguard’s three domestic sites in the U.S., and in Pennsylvania, Vanguard crew donated more than 1.3 million meals to those in need. 

Vanguard’s annual All Cans on Deck food drive donated more than 2.3 million meals to local hunger relief agencies.

Through Vanguard’s All Cans on Deck food drive, the firm’s crew make a difference for those living in food insecurity by not just providing food, but by providing monetary donations that strengthen the buying power that agencies have for those items they need the most. 

At the ceremony, Carolyn Biondi, executive director of Arm in Arm, highlighted the importance of those donations, saying, “Credit donations allow us to fill in when we’re missing on certain food groups… but even more so, allow us to provide fresh food, which is so important.” This year, Vanguard crew donated nearly $500,000 to local agencies, which also received a company match from Vanguard—an increase in 20% from last year.

“I am proud to go to work each day with people who care about giving back,” said Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley. “While our economy continues to grow and we are in the tenth year of a bull market, not everyone has benefited. Our crew recognize that thousands of families in our communities go to bed hungry each night. We try to alleviate some of that food insecurity by funding over 2.3 million meals through local agencies.”

All Cans on Deck is one of the many programs in Vanguard’s extensive portfolio of Community Stewardship efforts.  This year, donations raised in Pennsylvania will go to the follow agency partners: Philabundance, the Food Bank of Delaware, the Chester County Food Bank, the Food Bank of South Jersey, Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities, Arm in Arm, SHARE Foods and the Salvation Army.

Book Review: Lisa Scottoline's After Anna

Local author Lisa Scottoline has once again brought thrills and chills to me while I read her latest book, After Anna. Suburban blended family, sweet son Caleb, super-helpful and loving mom Maggie, caring and quiet dad Dr. Noah.

Enter the long-lost bratty and mysterious long-lost daughter? Yep- Maggie gets to fawn over the daughter she never got to enjoy, and boy does the family dynamic go wrong- it’s shattered, and somehow dad Noah is blamed for it.

What is portrayed as a tragic, horrifying murder becomes a skillfully crafted mystery reaching far beyond the comforts of home in Southeastern PA. Who is Anna really? Who was she? How will her mom cope with her death as her family gets torn apart?

After Anna follows the mystery genre formula, yet shocks you with a few surprises that gives you serious anxiety, cringe-worthy situations, happy feel-good moments, and at the end, a masterful climax that leaves you feeling intense, whew…I need to read that again! But first I need some rose’ to take it all in.

The format of the book starts in the future by chapter and goes back and forth in time until the two halves make the whole. I feel like with each chapter the book was revealing itself to me…and then I’d turn the page and was slapped with another anxiety-ridden scene.

Some books go out of the way to pepper the chapters with red herrings, with After Anna, Scottoline so skillfully intertwines the details you don't see the ending until you're on top of it.

As always, reading about local places is fun, and knowing the security of home yet with a masterful mystery surrounding you with each page, yes, After Anna brings the apprehension, the heartache, and a host of other emotions. Settle in with a good cup of coffee or glass of Sav Blanc, and get ready for this ride.

Find After Anna at your local book store.

NYE Dinner at Marly's, Phoenixville

IT'S TIME FOR NEW YEAR'S EVE! 
SAY GOODBYE TO 2016, HELLO 2017!

Gearing up for a night of fun? Start with a delicious dinner at Marly's on Bridge Street in Phoenixville! 

Chef Michael is creating dinner masterpieces all night long, with NYE specials in addition to the regular menu.

Enjoy hummus, fried green tomatoes, stuffed dates and specialty salads to start, then order the wild mushroom mac n cheese, hangar steak, salmon, diver scallops or my favorite- the shrimp and grits.

Taking reservations now, but filling up fast!

610-933-7471.

Happy New Year from Marly's Phoenixville to you!