In 2013 Sam Polk, a former hedge fund trader, founded a nonprofit called Feast (originally called Groceryships) to address food-related health problems in South LA, where the average income is $13,000 a year, life expectancy is 10 years lower than more affluent areas, and diseases like obesity and diabetes are alarmingly high. Feast began helping family food providers make healthy choices through nutrition education, cooking classes, free produce, and support groups.
That year Sam began hearing from Feast participants that while fresh produce was great, they often had to buy food on the go because they were juggling multiple jobs and large families. And in South LA, their only options were fast food.
Sam saw an opportunity to help families like these. So he created a model for a new company that would sell nutritious food in “food deserts” like South LA at prices competitive with fast food.
Feast was built on the belief that every life is equally important. Sam wanted this core value embedded in the new company, so they called it Everytable, reflecting a mission to bring nutritious, affordable food to every table in the country, with no one left out.