InteliSpark client, Equiti Foods LLC, wins supplemental funding for their phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). Equiti Foods has developed Good Bowls, a production and distribution platform for affordable, healthy, good-tasting frozen food meals to combat health disparities in low-income communities. The supplemental funding expands this project to take into consideration the impact of COVID-19 on nutrition and health in at-risk communities.
A major contributor to our nation’s $3.5 trillion in annual health care costs is the prevalence of chronic diseases which are the leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Poor nutrition is a risk factor for developing chronic diseases which makes low-income, minority and rural communities that lack access to affordable, nutritious foods at a higher risk of developing a chronic disease. Similarly, poor nutrition and health in these same communities significantly increases the risk of contracting COVID-19.
To address this critical social and public health issue, Equiti Foods is developing a business model that provides economic opportunities for farmers and small businesses in rural communities and advances a production and food distribution platform to increase access to healthy, affordable and good-tasting food options in low-income communities in the southeast. Good Bowls are good-tasting frozen foods based on the Mediterranean diet that integrate southern staple foods like collard greens, sweet potatoes, peppers, corn and beans.
Equiti Foods plan to use a sliding-scale model so that these locally sourced meals are sold at a lower price in corner stores and at a higher price in high-end stores. While reducing COVID-19 related health risks through increasing access to good, healthy food, Equiti Foods, a mission-driven start-up located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, will also provide much needed job opportunities.