We had the chance to celebrate Cinco de Mayo early this year by visiting one of our favorite locally-owned businesses: Tortillas Con Madre!

Just a few years ago, the Community Food Co-op was Lupita Nava's first vendor. After spending many years working for the school district in Lynden, Lupita decided it was time for a change. In 2017, with the encouragement of her family, Lupita created a very small tortilla factory out of her garage in Lynden, Washington.

She took a sample of her product and visited Co-op Grocery Category Manager, Michael Elkins. After trying the tortillas for himself, Michael told Lupita that whenever she had the capacity to sell to the Co-op, we'd welcome her—and her excellent tortillas—gladly.

Now, not only do we sell Tortillas Con Madre tortillas on our shelves, but we exclusively use Tortillas Con Madre in our deli. We're proud to say that your wraps and burritos are made with organic tortillas from a local Mexican-owned, female-owned business.

Although Tortillas Con Madre's reach has extended far beyond Co-op doors, we're glad to say the Co-op will always be home to Lupita.

Make Black Bean Quesadillas using local ingredients:

• 1 pack Tortillas Con Madre tortillas
• 1 block Greenbank Farms cheddar
• 1 jar Pangea Ferments jalapeños
• 16oz can of Field Day organic black beans
• 2 tbsp Steensma Creamery plain skyr (in place of sour cream)
• Optional: Limes, avocado or additional veggies as you see fit.