Power Supply (PS), a local company that provides fresh paleo meals to CrossFit customers across the greater D.C. region, is expanding its reach. In addition to the 33 gym locations PS already serves, the startup is reaching out to area yoga studios, mixed martial arts academies, and personal training gyms to find new locations to deliver its products.
The
paleo (short for "paleolithic"; sometimes called primal) way of eating has been around for decades or more but has grown in popularity alongside the
CrossFit phenomenon. Robert Morton, former CMO at Blackboard, current partner at PS and committed CrossFitter/paleo eater, believes the company has "hit a chord with people who have made an investment in themselves."
PS delivers more than 3,500 meals per week. Members order meals—either lunches, dinners, or both—on the company's website and then pick them up at their local gym. That mostly means CrossFit gyms for now, but, Morton says, "we just started to deliver to mixed martial arts and personal training [studios]...we want to keep expanding our reach to other activated communities, like yoga."
"We have different recipe items for weeks on end," Morton says. "It's a big, constantly rotating menu." Morton sees the variation in meals as a key part of making the paleo way of eating work for people, especially for those who are new to paleo. "When you're trying to sustain a change, variety matters."
According to Morton, PS constantly works to bring its clients locally sourced ingredients. The company is developing a relationship with
Grayson Natural Farms, and is working with Alli Sosna, founder of
MicroGreens. "[Sosna] is helping with us with responsible sourcing in seafood and produce, and she's also developing recipes," Morton says.
In return, PS is contributing to the MicroGreens project. Part of the company's mission is to give back; Sosna's project is one opportunity. Another is the
Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture. PS sponsors Arcadia's mobile market, a farmer's market on wheels that delivers local, sustainably produced food to underserved areas of the District that don't have access to fresh or affordable supplies.
Whether delivering meals to clients at CrossFit or making sure people in the District have access to quality food, Morton says that Power Supply is about "connecting with communities at the places where they gather."