Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Marshall.
Hi Anna, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
One summer in college, I lived on a Permaculture Farm in Kauai, Hawaii. Everything I ate was from the land at its peak ripeness and exploding with flavor. Eating in this farm-to-fork manner opened my eyes to the importance of the quality of the food we consume.
This was in stark contrast to what is available at the food store– fruits and vegetables that are harvested prematurely, often treated with synthetic chemicals, and transported hundreds of miles to then sit on grocery store shelves under artificial light, all before ever reaching our mouths.
When I returned to college, I began experimenting with cooking healthy meals using fresh ingredients from Miami’s local farmer’s markets. Near the end of college, I started meal prepping for people in the community and would ride my bicycle to make food deliveries. I established Food Marshall LLC at the beginning of 2020, with the mission to re-educate people’s palates to crave real, nourishing foods and reclaim their health.
At the time, I was only making plant-based dishes and raw vegan desserts. Since then, I have expanded my cooking to be far more nutrient-dense with grass-fed animal proteins (nose-to-tail) and raw dairy. I make everything from scratch, sourcing high-quality ingredients from local farms. I am in awe of the healing and medicinal power of properly grown, cared for, and prepared food.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am immensely grateful for the wide range of people I have met and have had the privilege to work with since the inception of Food Marshall, some of which include busy business professionals, families, cancer patients, people with autoimmune conditions and gut imbalances, and those who value eating clean real food and living a healthy lifestyle.
With any new start-up comes challenges. As a one-person business, I have had to take on multiple tasks such as menu planning, food shopping, pricing, communicating with clients, cooking, cleaning, sending invoices and managing finances, food packaging and labeling, food deliveries, running the Instagram page, and editing the website.
When I first started Food Marshall, I was having fun experimenting with new recipes, although some people were not always receptive to them! I have had to accommodate varying dietary needs, food sensitivities, and preferences, which requires additional effort and creativity on my behalf to customize meals.
Furthermore, creating structure in my schedule has been challenging since I am not able to anticipate the demand for food orders week-to-week. There have been times when I had to cook over 60 meals in a single day! In addition, since I have devoted so much time, energy, and passion to my work, I have struggled to balance it with my personal life and relationships. I have worked many long hours late into the night and missed out on holidays with my family. I am still learning how to properly manage my time and be more efficient. Sometimes clients have left for vacation last minute after I had already sourced the ingredients.
In terms of logistics, I have had my fair share of delivery driver problems. Some never completed the deliveries or dropped off the food at the wrong location.
Since I love to limit waste and avoid plastic, I serve all meals in glass containers. Yet on days when I am busy in the kitchen, some containers have fallen and shattered! On top of that, periodically, clients do not return the finished glassware to the delivery driver, and so I run low on reusable glassware inventory for packaging following food orders.
At times I felt discouraged and exhausted; however, as I look back at these last couple of years, I can see how all of these twists and turns are helping to pave the way for the evolution of Food Marshall.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I offer an organic meal delivery service where clients can select from a newly designed menu every week that highlights fresh, seasonal ingredients. I also am an in-home chef and cook for private dinner parties. I cater to a variety of dietary needs and preferences and use my educational background in nutrition to create healing meals that fuse high nutritional standards with delicious taste. I focus on making warm, gentle, easy-to-digest foods that heal and seal the gut lining, such as homemade meat broth and stews.
In addition to the chef side of Food Marshall, I am a health coach and nutrition consultant. I work closely with clients to develop a comprehensive, individualized program that includes diet, nutritional supplementation, lifestyle, and detoxification strategies to create deep healing of the body and mind. I enjoy working with women to balance their hormones and couples who are preparing to have a family — emphasizing the importance of preconception nutrition to set the foundation for a healthy pregnancy and baby-to-be. I use mineral balancing to help identify nutrient deficiencies and safely reduce toxic heavy metal exposures.
I am proud that Food Marshall has remained consistent with its core mission of marshall-ing you to optimal health and vitality, using food as a powerful medicine, and upholding high-quality standards, whilst not getting too caught up in any dietary extremes or singular way of being.
I aspire for people to embark on a health journey where they tune inward and find what is most healing and gratifying to them, not because some social media influencer or company told them to do so. I encourage clients to recognize the innate healer within and to listen to the deep wisdom and guidance of their bodies.
What makes you happy?
I am happy when I see other people appreciate and value wholesome, home-cooked meals. Food that is home-cooked with love has a different dimension. You may not be able to describe it, but it can be better than even the best restaurants in the world. It is a sensation that we feel. There is no doubt that cleaner food actually tastes better.
The food we eat has a ripple effect on every aspect of our lives and society at large. What we eat has the power to send information from the gut to the brain and affect our mood and behavior. Nourishing foods give us fortitude and clarity. We think better and make the best decisions about everything important in our lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iamfoodmarshall.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodmarshall/
