Submitted by: ACME Farms + Kitchen
As mothers of small children, co-founders Cara Piscitello and Joy Rubey started ACME Farms + Kitchen six years ago as a creative solution for busy families wanting to cook healthy meals using locally grown and produced ingredients. Early customers of their meal kit delivery service included those living in Whatcom County. The service has since expanded to the greater Seattle area with stops at communities in between the two regions. Most recently, in January of 2016, AF+K opened a distribution hub in Portland, Oregon delivering to families in the metro area.
Over the past six years AF+K’s customer list has grown from a few dozen to over 5,000 people purchasing meal kits containing locally sourced vegetables, meats, seafood and dairy products, as well as specialty items including freshly made pasta, bread, dressings and more.
“Over the past six years we’ve done what others haven’t been able to. We’ve developed a sustainable model for home delivery of locally sourced meal kits. We make it very easy for our customers to shop for and eat good food grown right here in our region cutting the number of miles their food travels. We’ve even figured out a way to do it with very minimal recyclable packaging. Our delivery drivers pick up our boxes and ice packs for reuse when delivering. As other meal kit delivery services come and go and with the big news of Amazon purchasing Whole Foods we’re especially proud of the service we provide,” states Cara Piscitello, co-founder.
The impact on the local food economy is significant. In 2016 alone AF+K purchased and delivered over 10,800 dozen pasture raised eggs, 10,000 lbs. of grass-fed beef, approximately 10,000 bunches of kale, over 20,000 lbs. of fresh fruit, 12,000 lbs. of fresh locally made pasta, and just under 16,000 loaves of fresh bread. On a typical week kits include items from 20 or more local famers and producers. Some notable providers include Skagit River Ranch, Samish Bay Cheese, Twin Sisters Creamery, Fresh Breeze Organic, Taylor Shellfish Farm, Cascadia Mushrooms, Growing Washington, Osprey Hill Farm, Viva Farms, Bellewood Acres, Bow Hill Blueberries, Bellingham Pasta Co., Flying Bird Botanicals Bellingham Coffee Roasters and more.
“ACME Farms + Kitchen has been purchasing pasture raised eggs from us, since 2013. We’ve grown with them and we are grateful for their business. We are a very small operation. The weekly support of ACME Farms + Kitchen has helped our little farm grow and thrive! We are so pleased to be partnering with them,” states Maria Whitcomb, owner and farmer at Prairie Road Farm, Burlington, WA.
In celebration of their six year anniversary, Acme Farms + Kitchen is offering a Summertime Sweepstakes with the Grand Prize winner receiving an exclusive Farm to Table Dinner featuring a hyper-local menu including local wine and spirits prepared by our own Chef Andrew for up to 12 guests.
About ACME Farms + Kitchen
ACME Farms + Kitchen, headquartered out of Bellingham, WA, delivers weekly meal kits comprised of locally sourced ingredients, a weekly meal plan and recipes to homes in the Whatcom County, Seattle and Portland, OR regions. ACME Farms + Kitchen currently sources from over 75 local food producers throughout the greater Pacific Northwest. More details at www.acmefarmsandkitchen.com.
