(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A onetime traveling salesman from Chicago turned his frustration with vending machine food into a successful business that covers half the country.
Luke Saunders, founder & CEO Farmer's Fridge, said he used to travel thousands of miles per week. But he said he got fed up with the limited choices at vending machines on the road.
"The whole idea for Farmer's Fridge was how do we make fresh healthy food as accessible as a candy bar?” he told the Noon Business Hour on Friday.
Farmer's Fridge started in 2013 with a pile of produce and space in a commercial kitchen. It has now expanded into a network of vending machines that stretches from Minneapolis to New York.
Vending machines can be found in office cafeterias and hospitals.
Saunders said the machines do well with health care workers.
"We get a lot of feedback from people [at the hospital] visiting family," he said.
The vending machines are stocked nightly with fresh salads, sandwiches, wraps and breakfast food.
The company has expanded into home delivery.
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