Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristen Starr.
Kristen, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Have you browsed the organic, local, or gluten-free section of your grocery store recently? Does your local store have space dedicated to these foods? Have you tossed cauliflower crackers or fresh local peaches into your basket, feeling a sense of accomplishment in providing “the best” nutrition for your child? Do you shop at a farmer’s market to fill up on local produce and baked goodies? Take a moment to recall what it feels like. Do you see lots of vibrant colors, smell a crisp freshness or a sweet baking scent, feel the beautiful textures of the real, whole foods as you browse?
Now envision a basket you see at the same grocery store, or a food pantry, to be delivered to a family in need. You know, the kind you can purchase around the holidays for about $5 at checkout. Did your thoughts land on a basket of pre-packaged and “cheap” food? Perhaps a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, some whole milk and a can of tuna.
Why the disparity? A few of the more straightforward reasons are cost and lack of nutritional education. In general, we target hunger in a quantity over quality sort of way. We feel we have to because food insecurity surrounds us. We’ve made great strides recently as fresh produce makes its way into food banks and pantries, but we have a long way to go before we see whole, local foods on the tables of all families.
SL was founded to fight against the nutritional inequity arising from access and availability of nourishing foods for Austin’s children. Inequity is perpetuated as options and education are limited in areas with the most need. The ‘good enough’ options we provide to keep children fed are simply not good enough. We can do better.
With this conviction, SL is on a mission to connect those in need with local and sustainable food sources. We will start by removing barriers to access, building a network to connect families with fresh seasonal produce and meals created from whole foods. To ensure a lasting impact on food inequity, we will educate local families about the importance and practicality of choosing healthier meals for their children.
Mission
Sunday Lunchbox is a 501(c)3 organization improving access to healthy, local food for Austin families.
Vision
Sunday Lunchbox envisions a world in which we have bridges rather than barriers between those in need and our local farmers and food artisans. We have removed barriers perpetuating nutritional inequity, such as cost, lack of access channels, and education. We’ve replaced these barriers with:
Sustainable distribution networks for locally sourced meals and produce
Financial support directed at those contributing healthy options to our community
Accessible educational material empowering families to make healthy food choices for their children and communities.
Families served by SL (Lunchbox Families) receive weekly deliveries combining local organic produce with shelf-stable meals. Produce bags contain a selection of in season, local, organic produce. Our meals meet the following high standards for nutrition:
Lunches are gluten and dairy-free, always, with nut-free options
Local, organic produce in every meal
Shelf stable for minimal prep and storage requirements
Eco friendly sourcing and compostable packaging
Through the sundaylunchbox.com website, a family can sign up to become a Lunchbox Family or refer others to the program. Continued membership depends on adherence to the following guidelines, put in place to create an eco-friendly program and empower families with a partnership role :
All delivery bags must be returned for reuse.
Packaging must be composted or returned.
SL educates Lunchbox Families about nutrition to ensure lasting impact on food inequity. Deliveries are accompanied by simple recipes via the 5 Minutes & a Knife blog, which can be created with minimal preparation and added ingredients.
Sunday Lunchbox also leads T’uffins 4 Teaching workshops, focused around a cooking class to prepare our kid-favorite recipes. We mix nutrition educational ‘bites’ about produce, sources of protein, balanced meals, and such into our content while families are preparing meals.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
With space being a premium here in Austin and the challenges of starting a business while raising a child as a single mom, Sunday Lunchbox started as a Cottage Kitchen. This means all our food was prepared at home according to the Texas Cottage Kitchen law. From the very beginning, food innovation was a necessity for our business. How can we provide fresh, healthy meals and stick to our values of feeding families with local food while operating under these laws?
This is how we landed on our operating paradigm of fresh produce + shelf-stable meals. Produce can be purchased directly from farmers/markets and redistributed, so long as there is no preparation (no cutting, peeling, etc.). Cottage kitchens are allowed to prepare shelf stable foods and baked goods, with restrictions around using meat and anything that can spoil. This is how we came up with our T’uffin + Hak Pak menu. T’uffins are gluten/dairy free baked goods that are high in protein and provide a local veggie with every flavor. They have seasonality; we bake whatever is in season here in Texas! Hak Paks are dehydrated meals; think Ramen noodles but the gluten-free kind with way more veggies and locally prepared spices. (and less salt!). Together with fresh produce, our meals are quick and easy for families and checked all the boxes for cottage kitchen prep.
Today, we’re happy to have grown and moved into a commercial kitchen. This allows us to sell our products in stores and raise money to feed our lunchbox families!
We’ve been impressed with Sunday Lunchbox, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Sunday Lunchbox (SL) is a 501(c)3 organization serving the Austin community. SL’s mission is to improve access to local, healthy foods for families facing food insecurity.
You can read more about us at sundaylunchbox.com.
Programs
Lunchbox Delivery (active)
Families register for our Sunday Lunchbox delivery program and receive meal deliveries each Sunday. SL meals consist of a main course, a T’uffin, and a snack. Main courses are created from dehydrated local produce, rice, beans, and noodles, with preparation limited to adding water and heating for 3-5 minutes. T’uffins are “Muffins for tough kids,” high in protein and veggies, with mix-ins including seeds and dried fruits to appeal to young children. Parents fill out a survey each week indicating preferences of meal/T’uffin options available and the number of meals per kid we should deliver. Families also receive a bag of fresh produce including local seasonal veggies and organic fruit.
T’uffins 4 Teaching (active)
T’uffins 4 Teaching is a baking workshop through which Sunday Lunchbox teaches kids to put healthy eating into practice. We walk kids and their parents through a simple T’uffin recipe, which includes local veggies, eggs, and nut/seed-based protein. T’uffins 4 Teaching combines simple baking instructions with ‘bites’ of educational material throughout.
How can you help?
Make a one-time or recurring donation at sundaylunchbox.com/donate.
Head to Amazon Smile and select us as your charity of choice.
Subscribe to our creative content on Patreon posted by our Lunchbox Lab. (patreon.com/sundaylunchbox)
Have your kids enter our Lunchbox Love art competition and vote on the winning entry. (my.360photocontest.com/lunchboxlove)
Purchase some swag on our Threadless artist shop. (sundaylunchbox.threadless.com)
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Sunday Lunchbox envisions a world in which we have bridges rather than barriers between those in need and our local farmers and food artisans. We have removed barriers perpetuating nutritional inequity, such as cost, lack of access channels, and education. We’ve replaced these barriers with:
Sustainable distribution networks for locally sourced meals and produce
Financial support directed at those contributing healthy options to our community
Accessible educational material empowering families to make healthy food choices for their children and communities.
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@sundaylunchbox.com
- Website: sundaylunchbox.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/sundaylunchboxatx
- Facebook: facebook.com/sundaylunchboxatx
