Hearing the words "fast food" probably conjures images of greasy burgers and french fries, but Oakland's CORE Kitchen is transforming this term with its healthy fast food options. At this eatery, you won't find anything other than fresh produce—in place of bread, it serves lunch in collard leaf wraps, and pasta is swapped out for vegetable-based noodles. Meals are not exclusively paleo, raw or vegan, but they do feature the best traits of each kind of diet. Plus, all meals are prepared without any sweeteners, additives, oils or powders.
As a B Corporation, CORE Foods already produces snack bars that are just as wholesome as the meals served at CORE Kitchen. Since it is a not-for-profit business that reinvests profits back into food, communities and its mission to make good, clean eats more readily available, CORE Foods took this latest project to Kickstarter in order to raise funds for the needs of this produce-only restaurant.
What's Driving This Trend
- Healthy Fast Food
- Creating fast food options that are made purely from fresh produce, without any sweeteners, additives, oils or powders.
- Alternative Ingredients
- Swapping out traditional ingredients like bread and pasta for healthier alternatives such as collard leaf wraps and vegetable-based noodles.
- Wholesome Snacks
- Expanding the market for wholesome, nutritious snacks that are produced by not-for-profit businesses and reinvest profits back into food and communities.
Who This Affects Most
- Restaurant Industry
- Introducing produce-only restaurants that provide healthy, clean eats to cater to health-conscious consumers.
- Food Manufacturing Industry
- Creating demand for alternative ingredients like collard leaf wraps and vegetable-based noodles in the production of fast food and packaged snacks.
- Non-profit Sector
- Supporting not-for-profit businesses like CORE Foods that focus on creating nutritious food options and reinvesting profits into food and community initiatives.
