Business Name: Meik Meals
Owner: Femeika Elliott (She prefers to go by Meik)
What drives your work, and how does it help our community?
I love food, and I’m in love with food education. With food education, the nutritional aspect comes with it. Still, I find the fun in exploring alternatives to our typical American foods. Being a conscious eater while bringing awareness to my community and digital platform is my "Why"— transforming lives through good healthy food one taste bud at a time. I bring my background in plant-based cuisine curation, herbalism, and holistic wellness to curate this safe space for our community. Meik Meals is an experience, and we love to see our community members have excitement and be inquisitive about plant-based alternatives. I believe this assists our community with food liberation and self-sufficiency with the knowledge that is provided. I’m here to play my part— part of that is to start a food revolution through plant-based eating.
Meik, can you tell us about your business, Meik Meals?
Initially, we started as a meal preparation and catering company specializing in serving individuals in Knoxville. We promote a healthy lifestyle of clean, affordable, and flavorful meal preparation believing in the freedom of choice by providing customized meal plans to meet our clients’ desires. We now operate as a plant-based company. We offer digital services such as holistic health consultations, meal preparation 101, and creative meal planning sessions. In addition to our digital services, we host pop-ups, markets, and curate specialty community events.
Why did you create Meik Meals?
After struggling with minor health issues of my own, I decided to change my life with a more plant-based eating regimen.
Knoxville is a unique place as the plant-based cuisine scene is very limited. Searching for plant-based eateries and dishes that were the typical veggie plate inspired me to change that.
Cooking has always been a way of life for me, but in 2019 something sparked— alchemy and creativity. Meik Meals is not just a space for vegans or plant-based but a space for the community. We welcome everyone, no matter where you are on your health journey. We are here to make it as fun, interesting, and educational as possible while sparking the inspiration within you.
How does it work?
Currently, we are no longer offering meal preparation to the general public as we launched a much-needed service for mothers postpartum called the Lotus Program. In the spring and summer months, we host pop-ups and vend at the local farmer markets for those that need a quick plant-based bite. For our pop-ups and markets, we do have the Meik Meals Mobile App that launched this year— it is available in the Apple Store & Google Play. We conduct most of our educational programs online through digital platforms. Instagram is always a must as reels and pictures are extremely helpful! We love when our community books speaking engagements, as we love educating community members on the various health foods/groups. Awareness is everything! We operate out of Real Good Kitchen (RGK) off East Magnolia Avenue in Knoxville.
What is the No. 1 dish for which you get the most requests?
Our No. 1 dish, especially at our pop-ups, is our plant-based chickpea tacos!
Where can people find you?
Our website is Meik-Meals.com, and our Instagram, Twitter & Facebook is @MeikMeals
Join Amy Campbell-Rochelson weekly at The Tennessee Farm Table Podcast & Broadcast for stories of Food, Farming, and Folklore. Listen on your schedule by podcast at TennesseeFarmTable.com or listen in on your radio Saturday mornings at 9:00, 89.9. WDVX, Knoxville, 2:00 WUTC, Chattanooga, and Sundays at 1:00 from Radio Bristol.