Hello, Quartz Index readers!
If there ever were a time for vegan vending machines, it is now.
A new company is looking to plant vegan vending machines in strategic locations across the US, and it’s got more than $2.2 million in seed money to get started. The machines contain prepared meals including chia pudding breakfast cups, lentils, and zucchini noodle bowls with walnut pesto at an average cost of about $8.
LeCupboard wants to take food vending to a whole other level. That includes programming ways to help consumers choose the right meal to fit their diet and placing the machines in high-traffic food deserts. The company has been developing the vending machines for the last four years, and ultimately wants to work within health providers and the federal food stamp program to find ways to feed undernourished populations at an affordable rate.
The UN pronounced 2016 as a high point for legumes; high-tech vegan foods are beginning to trickle their way into grocery stores and celebrity chef restaurants; and the North American obesity epidemic is driving more consumers to consider plant-based protein over meat.
The goal, leCupboard says, is to move beyond single food issues such as veganism, genetically modified food spats, and the obsession with organic. The real battle is switching from a quantity-per-dollar mindset to one that emphasizes nutrients-per-dollar. –Chase Purdy
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