Have you ever set out to work on a small project, only to find yourself part of a much bigger movement?
Our names are Keith Heiar and Aadi Bhanti, and we are founders of Source to Table, an online craft meat startup that launched in October 2019. Our business specializes in home delivery of naturally raised meats shipped directly from independent Midwest farmers. When the business began we had no idea how important it would be to so many across the country just six months later.
While large processing facilities are closing their doors and grocery stores are struggling to keep up with inventory, our farmers are able to ship throughout the nation. They have adequate supply of animals and access to small USDA inspected processing facilities in rural areas which enable them to keep supplying meat when others are struggling. Our business model also doesn't rely on warehouses or consolidation services, minimizing touches on the product and packaging.
Compared to our competitors, we are more flexible and our ability to feed families, especially in times like this, shines. We don’t have to shut down. Our meats aren’t created in a plant or stored in a massive warehouse. We don’t have hundreds of workers touching the meats before they go in the box. Our meats don’t travel around the country multiple times before you get them. Our meats start at the farm, prepared at a local USDA inspected facility, and don’t leave until they are on the way to the home of the customers.
We don’t just have corporate style relationships with our farmers. We go and visit our farms. We are in close contact with the farmers on a daily basis. This gives us flexibility and the ability to have direct farmer input and access. We make sure the safest practices are being put in place, which means safer meats for everyone. We can also create new promotions and programs at a rapid speed. Right now, we are donating a pound of ground beef to Midwest Food Bank with every order we get.
Our competitors helped start this movement, the direct to home online meat delivery. We are elevating that experience and truly bringing and exemplifying the benefits to consumers. We are taking this industry to the next level, and we are helping solidify true food security, safety, and quality in this nation, even during a time of crisis.
With our own orders, we’ve noticed that our customers are starting to purchase more frequently, in greater quantity, and with different items...ordering more staples (like roasts or ground meats and sausages), as well as the traditional specialty cuts. We are even getting more orders for 1/4 beef and half hog bundles, some which we’re shipping many states away.
We are so excited to be part of this turning point in the way Americans get their food. We’re even more excited to be the company that doesn’t skimp out on certain aspects of food supply security, transparency, and quality. People knowing where their food came from is a truly beautiful thing.