Local man brings farm fresh salads to your vending machine

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - It wasn’t too long ago that Luke Saunders was just a traveling salesman, making his way around the Midwest – and all he wanted was a fresh lunch on the road.

Flash forward a few years, and he’s the man behind those cool vending machines you’ve seen around the city.
It’s called “Farmers Fridge” – and it may change the way you have lunch.

“If I kind of made everything in one place and flipped the distribution model so that I can get food to people more conveniently, more accessible – Farmer’s Fridge would come out of that,” Saunders said. 

After you brush your shoes off, disinfect the soles, sign in, put on a hair net, and wash your hands, you’ll be witness to one of the most exciting new businesses in Chicago.

Farmer’s Fridge – it’s a company that puts fresh salads in vending machines around the city almost instantly following their construction.

“We’re obsessive about quality. We buy the best tomatoes. For example, right now we’re getting local tomatoes in Chicago from a place called Mighty Vine. They’re delicious and fresh. So we really focus on quality,” Saunders said. 

They have the production down to a science.

Early morning is the prep, while the late night shift belongs to the assembly – resulting in nearly instantaneous delivery and the freshest ingredients.

And this is just the beginning.

"At this point, we have 35 kiosks – we’re adding 10 over the next 30 days. We’re going to be at about 100 by the end of the year. We just moved into a new facility so we can make 10,000 salads a night, no problem,” Saunders told FOX 32 News. 

But, perhaps most importantly, Farmer’s Fridge donates all uneaten salads at the end of day to the non-profit organization “Zero Percent” to help those in need.

We all have to have lunch – but, what we often don’t have is the time to find something fresh, something healthy, something real.

But times are changing.

Because believe it or not, your answer may lie inside of a vending machine.