Equality, that’s the promise at the healthy food company Everytable since its launch by founders Sam Polk, a former hedge fund trader and David Foster, a former private equity professional.
This month, the Sentinel met with Everytable Chef Zach Thomas for an exclusive tour of the kitchen to witness the love and colorful flavors that go into each dish. The Sentinel also spoke with Chef Zach about the company’s inspiration behind the ingredients and spices used in the dishes as well as the human right of affordable healthy food for people of color.
Everytable co-founder, Polk, was motivated to start the healthy food company after the release of the 2012 documentary, “A Place at the Table” by directors Lori Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson.
Since its inception, Everytable has been able to fulfill its promise of “[making] nutritious, fresh food affordable and accessible to all” by pricing its meals based on the areas it serves.
At Everytable, the menu consists of a variety of salads, grain bowls, hot plates, and desserts. Some of their most popular items is the gluten free Jamaican jerk chicken, the trap kitchen curry chicken, kale chicken Caesar salad, and their Thai noodle salad.
The newest edition on the menu is the gluten free and vegan free curry lentil soup with black lentils, sweet potatoes, Spanish onions topped with fresh cilantro.
“My favorite menu item is the Trap Kitchen Curry Chicken because it reminds me of my childhood,” Chef Zach.
“It’s something near and dear to me. My mom is Jamaican and she would always make Caribbean food for my brother and I growing up. It was a really seamless collaboration with the Trap Kitchen guys as well.”
According to Chef Zach, the food is inspired by the city of Los Angeles.
“Every bowl is inspired by flavors of L.A. and the flavors that we love. We have our Latin inspired bowls like our puebla chicken tinga.
[Then] you have Caribbean stuff like our Jamaican jerk chicken, and there are some every day staples like the kale Caesar salad,” said Chef Zach.
“Then we have some really interesting seasonal things like our winter inspired cobb salad with butternut squash, blue cheese and winter greens. So [our menu] kind of expands the range from Americana to all kinds of cultural enclaves that we draw inspiration from. So it’s really us being inspired by what the market wants. It’s really inspiring to be able to deliver the full breadth and rainbow of flavors here.”
Once the food is prepped in the kitchen, it is packaged, sent out, and sold at Everytable’s grab-and-go storefronts at fast food prices.
The company is continuing to redefine the food landscape with its innovative business model with its introduction of the Everytable SmartFridge.
The smartfridge was designed with employees in mind to provide them with “effortless access to fresh food without leaving the office” with the swipe of a credit card.
“Employees swipe a credit card to open the fridge, and are charged for whatever they take out. We manage the inventory virtually and know exactly when to restock items, so there is no work on your end,” read the company’s website.
Currently the following companies are using Everytable SmartFridges: Kaiser Permanente, Fashion Nova, TOMS, Saatchi & Saatchi, and CTRL Collective just to name a few.
To date, Everytable has eight locations including USC, Downtown L.A., Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, Cal State LA, Santa Monica, Compton, Brentwood, and Watts as well as 40 smart fridges in the Los Angeles area.
Recently, Everytable made the decision to tap into the subscription service market.
Now Everytable customers have the option of getting their favorite and the newest dishes from the company’s rotating menu of over 22 healthy meals delivered right to their doorsteps or at a local store every week starting at $2.99!
“We decided to launch a subscription service to make our meals even more accessible and convenient for underserved communities,” said Polk.
“For a nominal delivery fee, our made-from-scratch meals are delivered directly to our customers and priced the same as meals at our restaurants, and that’s between $5-$8 in areas that lack health food options.”
What’s next for Everytable? Expansion of course. According to the company’s website, for each Everytable meal purchased, the proceeds go toward opening up a new location in food desert areas to fight against food injustice and bring affordable healthy meals to people of all ages, ethnicities, and class.
“Everyone can sit at the same table. Everyone can have access to the same quality of food and everyone can enjoy a healthy meal every day at their dinner table or at our table which is the Everytable. Everytable speaks to the whole ethos of the company which is making good, healthy, food, accessible for everyone,” said Chef Zach.
To find an Everytable storefront near you or to sign-up for the company’s subscription service please visit www.everytable.com and follow they on Facebook at Everytable and on Instagram and Twitter @foreverytable.
