Diet-to-Go, ACME Farms and Kitchen, Salt Pepper & Oil
It is no secret that current Americans tend to overload their days with endless “to-do lists.” Whether it’s putting in that extra hour at the office, taking the kids from one sporting event to the next, or attempting to keep the house in order, there’s just never enough time. Our self-made chaos makes healthy eating difficult. Food entrepreneurs have caught on and meal home delivery has become more popular, affordable, and tasty over recent years.
Flexible, fast, and fresh—these are the characteristics Rachel Burdo said describe home delivery meal company Diet-to-Go. “Our lifestyles are crazy and we know our customers’ are too,” said Burdo, vice-president of administrative services. Diet-to-Go was started in Washington D.C. 26 years ago, and now delivers nationwide. The company’s focus is centered around health and nutrition at an affordable price. Customers can choose from four meal programs—vegetarian, low-carb, diabetic, balance—and pay on a weekly basis. For their most popular balance program, for example, customers will pay $140 (plus $19.98 shipping) for 15 meals (three meals daily for five days) sent to our region, Burdo said. There are no contracts or fees so customers can come and go as their needs and schedules change.
A little closer to home, Bellingham-based ACME Farms and Kitchen was started by two moms in 2011 who were concerned about the food they were feeding their young kids. “There must be an easier way for families to get quality, local food into their homes,” co-owner Cara Piscitello said. Piscitello and her business partner, Joy Rubey, started ACME with what Piscitello described as an “online farmers market” where customers could purchase local meat, dairy, and grain. But the two quickly realized their customers wanted more direction, and the locavore boxes were born. Each week customers can choose from a large, small, vegetarian, or dairy and grain-free locavore boxes. The boxes are full of produce, grain, meat, and dairy from dozens of local producers and include easily customizable recipes. Piscitello said the best part of her job is the sense of community ACME is creating between producers and consumers. “We’re here to make sure that in five, 10, 20 years, all of this great local food is here. Our eye is always on the future.”
Oleg Vetkov began Salt Pepper & Oil in 2015 after attending both business and culinary school in the area. While he loved the time he spent in restaurants, he said the industry just wasn’t giving him the life he had envisioned. His goal at Salt Pepper & Oil is to make cooking as efficient as possible without sacrificing flavor. Customers pick their delivery time, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and their meals from the menu that changes weekly. Vetkov is committed to eliminating as much waste as possible, which is why delivery is so flexible. “It goes from me to you, to your fridge and that’s it,” he said. He is also in the business of saving his customers time. Unlike most home delivery companies, Salt Pepper & Oil does all the prep work for you. No slicing or dicing means meals can be on the table in 15 minutes.
