Today we’d like to introduce you to Raven Temple.
Hi Raven, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My journey to creating Farm to Temple started off as a passion to make eating healthy and local as accessible to my community as possible. I grew up all over the US, but once I landed here I knew it was home. While in college I worked every hospitality position you could imagine; Whether it was fine dining, front of the house or back of the house, food was ALWAYS a constant.
I went through a period of time where I had many health issues, which lead me to explore how food and lifestyle modifications could truly change the outcome of the diagnosis. That lead me to getting my Master’s in Alternative Medicine and Nutrition.
Farm to Temple was created based on that mission. Baltimore being a known food dessert, especially in the urban populations, I wanted to offer people a chance to eat good, healthy, delicious food, at an affordable price…delivering weekly meals helps people overcome the hurdles of needing to drive to get quality food, or spending hours making lunch for the next day.
After pausing the business for a couple years, we launched back up in March 2021. Now more than ever it seems that people are exploring ways to both live a healthier lifestyle, and take some of the load off of their everyday responsibilities (cooking).
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth ride! We originally launched back in 2015, and it was my first time ever having a business. I didn’t have a lot of startup funds, so marketing and overhead costs truly were a struggle. Eventually, I decided to step aside and focus on 9-5 work.
Fast forward 3 years, and a pandemic, I decided to launch again because many old customers were asking for it! It just felt like the right time market-wise, as well as I felt more knowledgeable on how to properly run a business.
Now the struggle is scaling while still keeping the same great quality. In the food business that is the hardest part because if you have 1 off day, it can cost you a client forever. People are (rightfully) particular about their food! Finding the right staff truly makes or breaks you.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Farm to Temple is a meal prep and delivery service, servicing Baltimore and greater Baltimore. We offer weekly meal prep, and FREE delivery to Baltimore, Howard County and Anne Arundel County.
Our meals change frequently, with a diverse range of options. Our ordering system is streamlined online for customer convenience. What sets us apart is we don’t require a subscription, food is never frozen, and it’s prepared locally.
We also frequently partner with local farms and vendors to source ingredients, as we believe in the philosophy that the shorter the distance your food has to travel, the healthier it is for you! Our meals are perfect for college students, single parents, working professionals, or people who flat out just don’t enjoy spending hours in the kitchen/but tired of spending so much money on takeout.
What are your plans for the future?
We have so many future plans! One major thing I am most excited about is creating a kids line- geared towards kids lunches. As a mom, I know that is an area where a lot of parents would benefit.
We also are looking at upgrading our bags- right now we have ice packs, but we would like to move towards completely insulated bags.
Lastly, expanding further out to the DMV. 5 years from now we would like to become a household name in the DMV for meal prep services!
Pricing:
- 5 meal plan $59
- 6 meal plan $76.50
- 7 meal plan $87.50
- 10 meal plan $120
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Www.farmtotemple.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/farmtotemple
- Facebook: Facebook.com/farmtotemple
