Last year, Louisville’s own Chef Kristina J. Addington was the first vegan chef to win The Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen. Now, her food truck, V-Grits, is trucking along bringing healthier options to Louisville. The goal of heart-warming and healthy is achieved with menu items like biscuits and gravy, mac and cheese and the “Where Do You Get Your Protein” burger—all of which are vegan. Even the sauce, cheese and dressings are made by V-Grits to ensure every bite is plant-based and animal-free. Chef Kristina isn't just here for the health trend either, "This is a mission-driven food truck. The most important goal will always be to show people that changing the way they eat can have a domino effect of positivity..." So what has V-Grits accomplished in the past year? After serving 6,000 meals (and counting) V-Grits alone has:
Saved 1.2 million gallons of water (based on the National Geographic statistic that vegans consume 600 gallons less water per day), spared the lives of over 1,000 animals (*based on the average American diet) and prevented over 8,000 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere (*based on veg calculator, used as a source by USA Today).
V-Grits has no plan to slow down, either. With goals to bring this healthy food nationwide, we can only expect big things from Chef Kristina in the future. She feels like our culture is ready to embrace healthier alternatives and has seen that support right here in her own city. "The response in Louisville has been overwhelmingly positive... Most of our customers aren’t even vegetarian. They’re just folks looking for a healthier or more unique option."
Be sure to visit V-Grits this weekend at the Flea Off Market to contribute to the impact of this company (and try some guilt-free indulgent food!)
To find out where V-Grits is heading to next, check out their event page.
