By Kaitlin Hoskins, News Editor
What began with a drawing and the desire to offer families healthy alternatives to fast food has now resulted in a brick-and-mortar store called Salads2Go – and more branches are planned.
Lee Harrison, CEO of Salads2Go, Harmony Hydration and Gardens on Air, hopes families from all walks of life can enjoy Salads2Go’s healthy options while having peace of mind about what they are feeding their family.
“We have this thing called ‘True Transparency,'” Harrison said. “It means you know exactly what’s in our products because we tell you. We know exactly where the ingredients come from and we know what ingredients we put in our products.”
Harrison said Salads2Go sources all of its ingredients locally. The lettuce and other produce is grown at Gardens on Air, Harrison’s hydroponic commercial garden facility in Hokes Bluff.
According to Harrison, they source any ingredients they can’t grow themselves from a list of farms in Alabama.
“We want to support other farms in Alabama and especially smaller women-owned businesses,” Harrison said.
Salads2Go offers fresh seasonal salads, fresh cold-pressed juices, Harmony Hydration electrolyte water, hummus and more.
Harrison hopes Salads2Go, which officially opened its first location in June, becomes a popular destination for local families. With that in mind, he said he wants to keep prices as low as possible so more families can enjoy the products.
“I’d rather sell 200 lettuces for $5 a piece than 100 lettuces for $10 or $15,” Harrison said. “Other stores might sell 50 grams of lettuce and pay $10 or $12 or maybe even $15 for it. We use 110 to 170 grams and everything is fresh.”
The Gadsden store was Salads2Go’s first, with a location opening in Hokes Bluff in the next week or two and, Harrison said, “hopefully there’s more good news on the way.”
Harrison, who grew up in Florida in the ’80s before his father moved the family to Alabama, tries to make the work environment at Gardens on Air, Salads2Go and Harmony Hydration (a water company that makes pH-balanced electrolyte water) pleasant and ensures the company’s employees are happy and paid a living wage.
“We’re trying to make sure they’re OK,” Harrison said. “My goal is for this to be the last job these people ever have. I want them to be debt free and have enough to go out to eat with their families.”
Visit Salads2Go at 118 Chestnut St. in Gadsden. Order online at Salads-2-Go.com.
