Food waste and food insecurity inspired Austin medical student Zack Timmons to start Good Apple, a service that delivers locally grown produce to people across Travis County.
Good Apple launched in November, and it’s grown considerably during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Before Covid-19, about 50 to 100 people had signed up to receive boxes of fresh produce.
“Now we have about 700 active subscribers,” said Timmons, a fourth-year student at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin and co-founder and CEO of the startup.
Good Apple donates a box of produce for every box sold. Boxes cost $30, including delivery.
“As a medical student, I have a big passion for addressing the social drivers of health such as housing, education and food security,” he said. “We wanted to find some sustainable way to address food insecurity in Travis County.”
Boxes feature 10 to 13 pounds of produce, including leafy greens, vegetables, fruits and herbs. Think kale, collards, bok choy, carrots, zucchini, squash, bell peppers, oranges, grapefruit, peaches, pears, persimmons, cilantro, parsley and dill.
“We work directly with local farmers to understand what they’re trying to sell week to week,” Timmons said. “Most of it is produce that would have gone to waste. They come in super fresh. I think there’s a huge difference in taste.”
Good Apple works to source produce from within a 180-mile radius of Austin, Timmons said. Everything is Texas-grown.
In the fall and early spring, Good Apple worked directly with pediatrician offices to identify families in need for free boxes of produce. More recently, Good Apple launched the Stay Home, Stay Healthy program, providing free produce and pantry items to people who are elderly or who have underlying health conditions that put them at greater risk for Covid-19. Partners include food pantries, the Austin Transportation Department and Capital Metro. As of Aug. 5, the Good Apple website reported the program had made more than 16,000 deliveries and contributed 346,000 meals and 511,000 pounds of food.
“We focus on people who live below 185 percent of the poverty line,” Timmons said.
Good Apple recently pitched at the Student Entrepreneur Acceleration and Launch program -- or SEAL -- at UT. Good Apple received “an early win,” Timmons said — $75,000 from the Ford Motor Company’s City:One Challenge program.
Good Apple is turning a profit, and its top goal is to continue to grow in Travis County.
“There’s a huge market here. From there, we’re considering strategic moves to other big Texas counties,” Timmons said. “We’re definitely trying to think of the best pathway forward."
Good Apple, he said, “has been one of the most incredible learning experiences I’ve ever been a part of. To take an idea and see it affect people’s lives … it’s been such a rich experience.”
