BC Business
Step away from the lineups and stodgy sandwiches—a platter of Vancouver companies deliver nutritious meals right to your desk
An offshoot of SPUD—the Vancouver-headquartered Sustainable Produce Urban Delivery company that works with a raft of local farmers—Be Fresh has four cafés and markets throughout the city as well as delivering workplace wellness plans to companies. With its non-GMO housemade healthy meals (free-range chicken Milanese, for example), it aims to keep “employees alert and engaged” and has fuelled such businesses as Lululemon Athletica. Delivery in Vancouver only, from $10; meals from $9.99, minimum order $50
When Tonner Jackson was earning his master’s in management at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, he struggled to find time to make nourishing meals. So Jackson and his roommate, UBC commerce student Mike Steele, turned to quick-and-easy smoothies that pack a nutritional punch, under the advice of the latter’s dietitian stepmom (and Global TV expert), Diana Steele. This inspired the pair to package ingredients for a range of smoothies made with produce from local farms (UBC, Fresh Roots and Discovery Organics, including its “rebel” or “ugly” fruit and vegetables, which would otherwise go to waste). The drill: combine The Good Stuff frozen base in a blender with, say, your favourite juice. Think liquid lunch, 2017-style. Delivery in Vancouver and on the North Shore; smoothies from $5.35, minimum 10 smoothies for free delivery
“People often think that eating healthy won’t taste good—we want to eliminate that mindset,” says Reuben Major, co-founder of Vital Supply. After 21 years in the industry, the executive chef/partner at Railtown’s Belgard Kitchen (and former director of culinary and bar development at Earls Restaurants) is helping people “feed their vitals” through locally sourced gluten- and dairy-free balanced meals, with proteins à la sous-vide (food cooked in airtight pouches immersed in controlled water baths, which helps retain moisture and nutrients). “We’re about food that tends to make you perform better and feel a lot less puffy.” Organizations can partner with Vital and have meals delivered to an installed Vital fridge or collect them from its kitchen (686 Powell St., Vancouver) and other Vancouver locations. Mains from $14
Although cake isn’t necessarily synonymous with a great diet, Eat Your Cake owner Joanna Wolski delivers on the company name by using healthier ingredients for the sweet stuff (spelt, oak and buckwheat chocolate layer cake, anyone?). Wolski’s team works with nutritionists and chefs to create weeklong meal plans that are customized to people’s athletic and other goals. From raw vegan and paleo diets to “regular ol’ meat and potatoes,” the “personal health delivery” service includes organic offerings such as grilled salmon with mango salsa in microwavable biodegradable containers. Free delivery to parts of Greater Vancouver; from $75 for eight meals over four days
More than half of Canadians spend their lunch working, surfing the web or reading, according to a 2009 Angus Reid survey for ConAgra Foods. Convenience was key for the 1,017 polled, a third of whom typically took a 16- to 30-minute break to eat. One in three sought healthy ingredients, 25 per cent looked for quality, and 17 per cent wanted flavour.