By Become Everytable Store Owners in Support of White House Conference
on Hunger, Nutrition and Health
Today, our founder Sam Polk, together with Social Equity Franchise candidate Dee Adimora attended this momentous conference held by the White House for the first time in fifty years with a goal of “ending hunger, improving nutrition and physical activity, and reducing diet-related diseases and disparities”.
Adimora spoke on the panel “Making Healthy Choices Easy: Why improving food environments matters” where she shared her experience with hunger, and the barriers against making healthy food choices as a former fast food worker. Adimora worked in the fast food industry for 30 years before she joined Everytable: “I ate where I worked,” which eventually led to a surprising diabetes diagnosis. Now, Adimora shares her experiences with Everytable customers looking for a healthy alternative. Adimora focused her message on access and the critical role that affordability plays in providing more nutritious food choices. “We can have the access but if it’s not affordable for everyone it doesn’t make sense,” said Adimora.
In conjunction with today’s White House conference, today we are officially announcing that Store Managers like Adimora will be able to own their own franchise location. Our innovative Social Equity Franchise Program fosters economic empowerment among entrepreneurs from marginalized communities by providing a clear and supported path to business ownership. Serving as a model approach to franchising, a system largely devoid of diversity and representation by people of color and women, the program provides critical access to capital for qualifying graduates plus in-depth, hands-on training to empower and prepare entrepreneurs to operate our Everytable restaurants in their own communities. We are committed to expanding this program beyond Los Angeles with an intention to invest $100 million in providing financial capital, training, and mentorship to aspiring small business owners across the country.
Addressing affordability, we commit to expanding access to underserved residents by ensuring that at least half of the next 100 Everytable retail locations will serve low food access areas and that all retail locations participate in the SNAP Restaurant Meals Program, where available. Even as inflation drives up food costs, we will keep meals priced affordably between $5-10. Additionally, We are re-launching our Pay It Forward program allowing guests to purchase a meal for someone in need, now in partnership with nonprofits in every market where Everytable stores are located.
Additionally we commit to growing our pilot program of medically tailored meals currently only in Los Angeles County across the country to include additional health plans and providers. Everytable will also work to add dietician-approved menu items across all business channels including stores and e-commerce to meet the nutritional needs of people with diet-related disease, such as diabetes, heart disease and chronic kidney disease.
“We believe access to affordable and nutritious food is a human right,” said Sam Polk, CEO, Everytable. “By expanding these programs we’re continuing the fight for food justice, and supporting the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of ending hunger and increasing healthy eating.”
For more information on White House Stakeholder Commitment click here.