The Right Spice Company: Flavoring Food & Filling Bellies One Spice at a Time
It all started at a birthday cookout.
As friends and family gathered around cheesesteaks and veggies sizzling on the grill, some guests mused about healthier options. Most agreed that chicken and broccoli was the ultimate healthy meal – great for weight loss, clean eating, low-carb or keto diets, and low sodium – but it had one glaring problem: the complete lack of flavor.
That’s when one of The Right Spice Company’s co-founders pulled out his homemade spice blend, seasoned some chicken & broccoli, and threw it on the grill. Everyone loved the healthier option and the two co-founders quickly realized: the right spice makes almost anything taste good.
That cookout was the beginning of The Right Spice Company. The online company now operates nationwide to provide people with the seasonings they need to prepare healthy, flavorful food – regardless of expertise in the kitchen. TRSC spice blends are ideal for new cooks, people adopting a new diet or those who want an easy way to flavor everyday foods without breaking the bank.
In addition to The Safety, the savory blend used at that first cookout, this Chicagoland company also sells a variety of other exciting shelf-stable blends including:
The Mother-in-Law – a more floral, and less-spicy version of The Safety
The Bird – the perfect poultry and meat seasoning
The Comfort – a spice blend for breakfast & sweet treats
The Bloody – a dry Bloody Mary mix
The Utility – a staple blend of salt and pepper
Best of all, The Right Spice Company is now donating 100% of its profits to Beyond Hunger – a suburban Chicago food pantry & relief organization – to help feed those going hungry as a result of COVID-19.
Feeding Our Neighbors with Beyond Hunger
Helping people has always been central to The Right Spice Company’s mission and vision. It’s no surprise, then, that when COVID-19 left millions without work and suddenly food insecure, the small business owners knew they wanted to help.
For the month of April and beyond all TRSC profits will go directly to Beyond Hunger. The TRSC team chose this organization because it provides an immediate nutritional lifeline for struggling neighbors, and meaningfully benefits the community as a whole.
Beyond Hunger, formerly know as The Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, helps feed people living in thirteen zip codes west of Chicago, including over 7,000 food insecure individuals in Oak Park (where Beyond Hunger is located). Beyond Hunger also provides other support programs, including snacks for tutoring/summer school programs, social services assistance and cooking classes.
Food pantries provide critical assistance to people that need food quickly. Unlike government nutrition programs like SNAP or WIC, households don’t have to fill-out a bunch of paperwork or go through a lengthy registration process to get food from a pantry or meal program. As a result, programs like Beyond Hunger provide critical nutrition support for families that are suddenly and unexpectedly food insecure, as was the case for many people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pantries are also important because they provide more than one meal at the time. Meal programs (aka soup kitchens) provide one hot meal when you walk in, but newly and/or transiently food insecure individuals often prefer the more grocery store-like experience of a food pantry. Residents of the Beyond Hunger’s service area can visit the pantry once a month and receive over seventy pounds of nutritious food per visit.
Shopping at The Right Spice Store is an easy way to both boost the flavor of your meals and help feed needy families in the Chicagoland area. To learn more about Beyond Huger and its programs, please click here.
How Other Small Businesses Can Help
Are you a small business owner that wants to help fight hunger?
If you want to contribute but can’t afford to (or don’t want to) donate all your profits, here are some other ways you can help local hunger relief organizations like Beyond Hunger:
Donate profits for a shorter period of time (e.g. one day or week), or only on certain products
Donate a few cents for every new follower on social media
Organize a campaign and offer to match customers’ donations to a specific organization
Host a giveaway and donate raffle ticket profits to your local food bank/pantry
Spread the word about important causes in your community, both in-person and online
Remember: every little bit helps! If you want to help fight hunger as an individual, consider volunteering at a local food bank, pantry or meal program, hosting a food drive at your work/school, or donating food and/or money to a local hunger-relief organization.