We were lucky to catch up with Heather Emerson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Heather, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I was raised in the 80’s, in a small, Texas town eating boxed, frozen, or fast food. Not because my parents didn’t care about my health, but because they thought processed food was perfectly fine.
This was during the height of “Milk, it does the body good” campaigns, followed by “got milk?” ads featuring celebrities wearing white milk mustaches. Needless to say, I was utterly shocked and offended when the raw vegan at Whole Foods in 2005 told me that milk was for baby cows, not humans (gasp)! He also told me the food pyramid only contained dairy because it was created by the USDA, which was highly funded by the beef industry. I never had a bad reaction to dairy, but so many people I knew, including my dad, had to take lactase pills before consuming a milk product. It got me thinking…
I was working at Whole Foods at that time, surrounded by food activism. This was nearly 20 years ago, prior to the Amazon takeover that changed the culture. Back then, Whole Foods leadership and staff took their food mission very seriously: composting, tracing sourcing, active against exploitation of farm workers, the importance of organic foods, lobbying for Non GMO labels, and much more. Working there was akin to ‘food bootcamp’.
I had been out of prison less than a year, and was desperately looking for community, purpose, and focus. Upon release, I had a small duffle bag of items: letters, select toiletries, a couple of items of clothing, and a gallon-size ziploc bag of medications ranging from antidepressants to sleeping pills to antiviral medications because my brain, body, and immune system was shot.
I was fatigued, depressed, and ate processed foods because they were cheap, convenient, and I hadn’t considered any other course of action for my health. A pizza for dinner and an Egg-McMuffin for breakfast was standard. I remember going to different doctors for anxiety. Their solution? More medications.
No one had ever told me that my health was within my control. No doctor recommended that I change my diet. I was made to believe that my health problems and psychological disorders were not my fault: it was genetics and/or illness, a sad, unfortunate diagnosis due to no fault of my own.
I was almost completely broken when I exited incarceration. Most of my dignity had been stripped away at that point. It was the perfect time for me to hear a new message, because quite frankly, I needed a miracle.
When this same raw vegan (the one who informed me about the dairy conspiracy) looked me in my eyes and told me that if I went vegetarian, my body and health would change, I heard him.
I couldn’t bear to take another medication or use alcohol to numb myself another day. I was overweight and felt lifeless.
Within 30 days of my vegetarian journey, my entire life changed. I noticed that I could think more clearly. For someone on as many medications as I was, thinking more clearly was pivotal. I also noticed my senses heightened. I could see, smell, and hear things more easily. Over the next few months, I lost 30 pounds and got off my entire bag of medication. Every single one.
In hindsight, I believe my weight loss and new found sense of mental clarity was a result of reducing inflammation in my body, specifically my brain.
Learning about the power of real food gave me a new way of seeing myself and the planet. From that point forward, I knew that food could change the world.
It could heal dis-ease, reverse illness, change people, reverse climate change, and replenish our soils – if food was grown responsibly.
This food knowledge never left me. I later moved to NYC and had to figure out how to feed myself nutritious, organic, plastic-free food without spending $100 every time I crossed the street. I started making meals in jars and throwing them in my oversized purse before hopping on the train to work. I remember my coworkers’ eyes ogling at my layered organic ingredients as I dumped it into a bowl next to their hot processed food they had delivered in styrofoam.
All I could feel was gratitude in those moments because I couldn’t unlearn what I knew: that food touching chemicals and plastic meant food in our bodies. And that meant potentially more dis-ease.
Today, I still take zero medications. When I’m feeling “off”, I usually know it’s because I need a workout, a healthy meal, a supplement, or time in nature. Very rarely do one of these things not cure whatever is going on with me.
Food is by no means a cure for everything, but it’s certainly an effective and empowering place to start. And as I look around, I can see that real nutrient-rich food is not as available as I’d like it to be.
I realize change is not easy. You’ve got a million things going on from work, to kids, to a fast-paced lifestyle to juggle. I had that too in NYC.
That’s why I started PTYD. I knew I couldn’t be the only one in the world who thought good food was important. No plastic. No pesticides. Responsibly sourced, packaged, and reused. You shouldn’t have to choose between living your life to the fullest and eating high-quality, nutrient-dense food, ready in less than 5 minutes.
-Heather Emerson
Heather, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Prep To Your Door delivers organic, plant-based, farm-to-table meals delivered in zero waste packaging. We pick up the empty glassware each week, compost all paper products, and plant 2 trees for every 1 we use. Nothing goes in your trash.
Our meals are nutritionally designed to sustain you and the planet, which encompasses the science and spirit of a whole-food, plant-rich diet. Our recipes are created to help heal your gut, reduce inflammation, balance your blood sugar and hormones, and regulate your digestive system. We also make meals that are ‘just for fun’ or comfort (replaced with high quality ingredients) because we believe that’s important too.
We believe that extremism isn’t good for anyone. Eat this way most of the time and you’ll have health that lasts. Nourish your body and have a measurable positive impact on soil health, farmers, and the environment. Get used to creating a positive impact with each bite you take.
This way of eating fits seamlessly into your lifestyle. All meals are delivered to your door, ready-to-eat, and you can edit the number of meals or skip a week whenever you need. You can also ‘set it and forget it’ and let us surprise you each week.
We track our offsets from operating activities, including deliveries, and offset them through carbon credits and contributing to the Green Choice Renewable Energy program. As of 2022, PTYD is 100% carbon neutral and we aim to become carbon positive – sequestering more carbon than we emit.
Prep To Your Door was named “FAVE Sustainable Business” in 2019. Our Founder, Heather was named Austin Under 40 and Forbes Next 1000 in 2021. Our Co-Founder, Faiez Rana, was named “Change Maker” for 2021.
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
Our Founders, Heather & Faiez, are partners in life & business. They met in class at Harvard University, and quickly emerged as leaders with a passion for sustainability, food systems & education.
Driven by the idea of social entrepreneurship, they both believed in the power to build a business for good, without cutting corners.
Living a fast-paced lifestyle in NYC, Heather had to get innovative to create sustainable, zero-waste lunches. Born in her studio Manhattan apartment, the first PTYD jars gave Heather a quick & easy way to nourish herself in the city.
When they moved back to Austin, Faiez pushed for the couple to start a business. Slowly, the pair began perfecting meals in jars with help from their very first customers. Always plant-based, organic, locally sourced & ready to eat, our meals refuse to cut corners on health & ingredients.
With such high food standards, the zero-waste meal delivery took off. Over the past five years, Prep To Your Door has grown to a team of over forty.
As of January 2021, we’ve served over a quarter million healthy, plant-based meals to our community, saved over a quarter million plastic containers from landfills & purchased over 55,000 pounds of locally grown, organic Texas grown produce.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In my first story :)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.preptoyourdoor.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/preptoyourdoor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/preptoyourdoor
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emersonheather/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_3FO24lLJzVyrp3AwP8a4w
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/prep-to-your-door-austin?osq=prep+to+your+door
Image Credits
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