Everytable co-founders Sam Polk and David Foster are passionate about providing healthy and affordable meals to everyone. They believe this is the key to revolutionizing the food landscape like McDonald’s did fifty years ago.
Their mission is not only to provide fresh, nutritious food but also create jobs for low-income individuals. That’s why their pricing is based on zip codes; guests from lower-income areas pay less than those from higher-income neighborhoods.
Mission
Everytable is on a mission to bring healthy, affordable meals to all - one meal at a time. Their innovative business model involves central commissary kitchens and small grab-and-go storefronts that drastically reduce operating costs for traditional restaurant operations, enabling Everytable to provide high quality meals at reasonable prices in low-income neighborhoods.
Everytable sources their food from local farms and markets, while donating 10% of their revenue to nonprofits that assist those in need, such as FEAST (formerly Groceryships), a South Los Angeles-based nonprofit that offers nutrition education, cooking classes, free produce and support groups for community members.
Their business model also strives to create opportunities for employees from underserved communities to own and operate the company’s locations. Indeed, Fluellen leads a social equity franchise program which provides workers with management training and capital so they can open their own Everytable stores in communities where they are most needed.
The company is expanding rapidly, boasting 32 storefronts - 20 of which are open. It intends to continue opening new locations and offering subscription services throughout Southern California, the Bay Area and New York City.
Everytable also plans to expand its franchise program by providing start-up financing to entrepreneurs from underserved communities who would like to own and operate their own Everytable locations. The initiative, which will launch in the first quarter of 2021, offers those who have been unemployed for some time or lack business experience the chance to become business owners.
Most food companies rely on individual consumers purchasing their products regularly, but Everytable offers a subscription service that provides customers with pre-determined meals at a fixed monthly or weekly fee. This makes the subscription service ideal for those who need to buy food in bulk but still prepare their own meals regularly.
Locations & Services
Everytable’s business model relies on centralizing kitchen operations to produce fresh, nutritious meals. They then sell these goods through grab-and-go storefronts or through delivery services.
The company’s locations are designed to be welcoming and comfortable spots for guests to enjoy healthy, delicious food. Additionally, they provide SmartFridge vending machines, catering services, as well as daily or weekly meal delivery for businesses.
Sam Polk, the founder of Everytable, is driving their social mission forward with a dedication to providing nutritious yet affordable meals to those in need in his communities. Prior to founding Everytable he created FEAST nonprofit which provided fresh ingredients to low-income families as well as nutrition education and cooking classes.
Everytable’s success has led them to expand throughout Southern California and are currently looking at expanding their e-commerce meal delivery service into the Bay Area as well as opening three new stores in New York City.
Everytable’s Social Equity Franchise program is one of the company’s most innovative features, which allows marginalized entrepreneurs to own their own Everytable locations without needing any startup capital. Participants in the program complete a year-long training curriculum and receive ongoing support throughout their venture.
This program offers on-the-job training in retail store environments, classroom instruction and ongoing technical and marketing support. Currently, six people are enrolled in it - including Maria Martinez who manages a Monterey Park location.
Everytable has seen phenomenal growth over the past two years, expanding from 32 storefronts in Southern California and New York City. To support their growing subscription meal delivery service and recent announcement of a $16 million Series B funding round led by Creadev and Desert Bloom Food Ventures, Everytable recently announced the closure of this round.
Commitment to Community & Sustainability
Everytable is on a mission to make nutritious, affordable food accessible for all through small, grab-and-go storefronts in both underserved and affluent communities. Established in 2016, the company currently serves customers throughout Los Angeles County with plans to expand across the US within several years.
Everytable provides dine-in, takeout and subscription services for healthy chef-prepared meals prepared in a central kitchen that are priced according to zip codes. Prices are significantly lower than at traditional restaurants, making these options accessible to people of all income levels and neighborhoods.
The company is also striving to combat food insecurity among college students. Its SmartFridges and Everytable Markets, located on various university campuses, offer nutritious options at an affordable price.
Everytable is proud to support entrepreneurs from underserved communities through its Social Equity Franchise Program. Through this initiative, Everytable is helping low-income individuals become store owners in areas with limited food access by providing essential financial capital and mentoring.
Everytable will relaunch its Pay It Forward program, allowing customers to donate meals to local non-profits that feed the hungry. Furthermore, Everytable has expanded the availability of its Medically Tailored meals - created in partnership with dietitians for specific health needs.
Sam Polk, the founder of Everytable, says his inspiration for Everytable came from working with an organization called Feast which provides fresh fruits and vegetables to low-income communities. Through this experience, he saw firsthand how beneficial fresh produce could be on people’s lives—especially children’s.
Polk also emphasizes that the Everytable business model is much more cost-effective than a traditional restaurant establishment since they purchase fresh ingredients and prepare them in one central kitchen. As a result, their total operating expenses are less than half of those experienced by traditional restaurants.
Impact on Food Insecurity & Health Equity
Many families struggle with the lack of affordable food access in their community, creating a source of stress and impeding healthy living. This is particularly true in low-income neighborhoods known as “food deserts,” which disproportionately impact communities of color.
Sam and David Foster created Everytable as a solution to this problem, offering nutritious fresh-prepared meals at prices that are within reach of residents in certain neighborhoods - often less than $5 per meal. Their model has since spread throughout Southern California with over a dozen stores and counting.
They’ve also installed SmartFridges at local universities and colleges, helping college students avoid hunger. This is especially crucial in a city like Los Angeles where over 230,000 students are food insecure and one in five recently became homeless.
That is why Everytable has recently established a COVID-19 Helpline, connecting their services with schools, senior centers and homeless shelters in the city. Through this helpline, Everytable’s network of restaurants and markets are able to reach vulnerable people so that they can get food when it’s most needed.
Meanwhile, they’ve launched a program to deliver medically tailored meals to people living with chronic diseases like diabetes. Their aim is to make these nutritious and high-quality meals more accessible and affordable for patients.
These commitments to combat food insecurity will bring us one step closer to a society that can feed its people and prevent diet-related disease by 2030. They guarantee everyone the opportunity to lead a healthy, fulfilling life.
Future of Food
With an estimated global population increase of nearly 2 billion people by 2050, food supplies will be severely compromised. To combat this increase, experts suggest adopting new farming techniques and producing foods which are nutritious, affordable and sustainable.
To achieve these results, innovative techniques must be devised that utilize technology to increase food quality and quantity while decreasing environmental damage. Furthermore, people’s attitudes toward nutrition and diets need to be altered.
Thankfully, several trends are likely to influence how we eat in the future. These movements are driven mainly by a desire to ensure food security, prevent shortages and malnutrition, eliminate allergies and intolerances, protect global biodiversity, and promote clean food production.
As these trends spread, they will have a major effect on our diets and the food system as a whole. These include:
The rise of the “Climatarian Diet”: As consumers embrace vegetarian, vegan and flexitarian lifestyles to reduce their carbon emissions, they may choose to follow a “plant-based diet”, which emphasizes more plant-based meals such as beans or lentils.
Another significant shift that will influence our diets is the rise of ‘protein alternatives’. These could come from algae, high protein insects, seaweed or allergen-free nuts.
These innovations demonstrate the immense impact food can have on both economics and society. From growing real meat in a lab to creating plant-based proteins, these advancements are revolutionizing how we produce and consume food - potentially providing us with opportunities for a more just and sustainable future.
In Conclusion
Everytable is making a significant impact on food justice and health equity by providing accessible, nutritious, and affordable meals to communities in need. Through their innovative business model and social equity franchise program, they are creating job opportunities and empowering marginalized entrepreneurs to own and operate their own locations. Everytable’s commitment to community, sustainability, and combating food insecurity is admirable, and their future plans to expand their franchise program and subscription services will undoubtedly continue to make a positive impact.
As we look towards the future of food, Everytable’s model serves as an example of how we can create a more just and sustainable food system. By prioritizing accessibility, affordability, and nutrition, we can combat food insecurity and improve health equity, while also taking steps towards a more environmentally conscious future. Everytable’s work is a testament to the power of social enterprise and the potential for businesses to create meaningful change in their communities.
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