Tampa-Based Meal Kit Company Gives 22,000 Meals To Needy Families

TAMPA, FL — With more families cooking at home during the coronavirus pandemic, husband and wife, Matt and Johana Dickahuse, founders of the Tampa-based meal kit company, Chef Ami, were busier than ever during the past year.

Nevertheless, as they provided families with quick meals made with fresh, nutritious locally sourced ingredients, the Dickahuses were all too aware there were many Tampa Bay families struggling during the pandemic to put food on their tables.

To help bridge the hunger gap, they donated more than 22,000 meals to Feeding Tampa Bay last year. And now the couple is vowing to double that number this year.

For every meal sold, Chef Ami is donating a meal to Feeding Tampa Bay. The couple hopes to donate 44,000 meals to the nonprofit, which served 65 million meals to hungry residents in its 10-county service area last year.

Florida ranks No. 4 in the nation for the number of food-deprived families. In Chef Ami's service area of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, bout 25 percent of children and 15 percent of adults are currently food insecure.

"With the coronavirus pandemic resulting in so many job losses, the need is greater than ever," said Johana Dickahuse. "Every time you cook with us, you're helping feed hungry families right here in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties."

The Dickahuses started Chef Ami in 2018 after quitting their jobs in marketing to follow their passion: providing healthy food while supporting local farmers.

"We believe that by living, working and sourcing our ingredients in the same community that we are serving allows us to bring a quality and freshness to our meals that a big corporation in New York or California just can't beat," Matt Dickahuse said.

He said Chef Ami was created for busy people looking for a convenient and healthy solution to the question: "What's for dinner?"

"We provide everything you need to make quick, delicious meals at home worry free, saving you time and energy to spend enjoying the things you love the most," he said.

"With the help and guidance of master French chef Michel Maloiseau, we spend hours researching recipes, test cooking them, and tweaking them until they're perfect," Johana Dickahuse said.

"Before we approve any recipe, we make sure it meets our requirements of being delicious, nutritious, easy to cook, and will only take about 3o minutes to prep and cook," she said. "Every week we pick a new three-meal menu and include as many in-season and locally grown ingredients as possible."

"Locally grown, fresh and high-quality ingredients is what make the difference between a good meal and a great meal," Matt Dickhuse said. "When it comes to the quality of our ingredients, we are meticulous and only purchase from local farmers and suppliers of the highest quality."

Recipes include such dishes as Pork Chops Marsala with a sweet bacon-almond veggie medley, Creamy Chicken Pesto Pitas with sweet potato wedges, Southern Jambalaya with Andouille sausage and shrimp.

All ingredients are delivered in reusable packaging and come with easy-to-follow instructions for meals ranging in 400 to 700 calories.

Click here to receive meals from Chef Ami.