Ep. 32 Social Entrepreneurship and Fighting Food Waste One Pound of Pulp at a Time with Kaitlin Mogentale of Pulp Pantry
Happy #SeekTheJoy Tuesday! On the podcast this week is Kaitlin Mogentale, the founder and CEO of Pulp Pantry. Kaitlin is on a mission to create progressive solutions to combat food waste and build healthy food access for all. Food waste is a huge problem, and Pulp Pantry is solving a piece of that puzzle.
Pulp Pantry's snacks are "your juice's other half," made with fiber-packed organic veggies, fruits, and nut pulp from your favorite organic juiceries. They're delicious, nutritious, and entirely sustainable.
On today's episode we chat all about . . .
- Where Pulp Pantry began (cannot wait for you guys to hear this story!)
- We dive deep into Kaitlin's entrepreneurial journey - the highs and the lows, overcoming obstacles and challenges, and what it's been like launching and building a business in your 20's.
- The connection between core fears and core values
- We get real about how difficult it is to develop balance, self-love, and self-care when you're launching and building a business
- The most rewarding part of starting and running Pulp Pantry
- What it's been like following her passions, her biggest inspirations, the role of community in her life, and so much more!
So, where did Pulp Pantry start? It all started when Kaitlin watched a friend juice a carrot. She saw firsthand the large amount of fresh pulp that was left behind - and that moment was completely transformative for her.
Kaitlin's background is in Environmental Studies, and her inner food waste warrior couldn't help but want to figure out what to do with all the pulp (or the carrot's better half, as she would say). She took the pulp home and made her first-ever juice pulp carrot cookies. This sparked a greater curiosity - what was everyone else doing with their pulp?
In one week, thousands of pounds of organic produce pulp might be sent to the landfill from just one juicery. For every pound of juice produced, as much as three to four pounds of the nutritious fiber-rich pulp might be trashed. Once Kaitlin realized all of this, she began to devise a pulp collection system with a juicery on campus. The rest is history.
What I love so much about Pulp Pantry (in addition to their focus on combating food waste and sustainability!) is that they're a social enterprise. Impact is core to their model, and with every bag they sell they're reducing greenhouse gases and providing people with better, nutritious ways to eat their fruits and vegetables.
Kaitlin and her business partner Ashley are on a mission to usher in a new wave of good nutrition and sustainability. Living in South Los Angeles, they were both confronted with the reality of living in a food desert plagued by a lack of access to healthy food. Kaitlin worked at an urban school garden while in college (at USC!) and she was exposed to the poor quality of food "fueling" kids bodies each day. She saw kids come into the garden, having never seen a fresh carrot before, and really taught them to grow a carrot from seed to stem.
At Pulp Pantry, their vision is to cultivate a better, more nutritious food reality in communities regardless of income. One day they hope to be in not just health food markets, but in corner stores in every part of the country.
With Pulp Pantry Kaitlin is amplifying the message of fighting food waste, spreading good nutrition, and saving the planet.
It was really excited to chat with Kaitlin about her entrepreneurial journey. It takes a certain bravery and courage to take that step. In some ways it's been an unanticipated journey, but Kaitlin couldn't imagine doing anything else.
Sometimes the madness of starting (and running) a company can get in the way of self-care. When you're in the trenches of entrepreneurship how do you cultivate that self-love and self-care? I really loved hearing Kaitlin's perspective on this, and how she's been able to incorporate a little more self-love while growing her business. Kaitlin shares that she's in hustle mode, and how we can really convince ourselves that we need to "work work work" and that we don't have time for anything. It's been a learning experience, and for Kaitlin it's about building in at least 30 minutes every day for self-care, and that starts with her morning routine.
Today's episode is so so good, I know you guys are going to enjoy it!
PLUS we're doing a GIVEAWAY!!
To enter to win a pack of Cinnamon Toast, Cacao Crunch and Vanilla & Sea Salt . . .
- Follow @seekthejoypodcast and @pulppantry on Instagram
- Like the post announcing the giveaway
- Tag a friend you'd like to share a bag with!
***Bonus entries for each additional friend you tag. 1 comment = 1 entry. Good luck! The giveaway ends on Sunday May 20th at 5pm PST and the winner will be announced on Monday May 21st.
To learn more about Kaitlin and Pulp Pantry visit their website www.pulppantry.com
You can find Pulp Pantry on Instagram @pulppantry and Facebook @pulppantry or you can e-mail them at info@pulppantry.com
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The sixth episode in our series, The Power of Storytelling, airs on June 21st! We want you to be part of it! To learn more and to submit your story, visit the Share Your Story section of our website. Fill out our interest form - and we'll get back to you ASAP.
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