I Love Juice Bar operator Asa Swift hated the waste his juice bars had at the end of every business day.
"All our juice is made fresh daily, so anything we didn't sell was, at one point, being thrown away," said Swift, who co-owns all three of the I Love Juice franchise locations across Hamilton County.
Swift has a passion for healthy eating, but recognizes it can be expensive and inaccessible to people. That's what led him to open the local franchises with the help of Dixie Produce, a local produce wholesaler for whom Asa is an account executive.
But while the juice bars boast below-average prices, Swift still wasn't satisfied that such options were accessible to all.
Then, through a chance encounter, he met Robert Gustafson with On My Own 2 Feet & Wheels and a partnership quickly bloomed.
Gustafson helped start the nonprofit in 2016 to help the homeless population of Chattanooga build confidence and better health through running and cycling, and find a support network in the process. The program provides the necessary gear, and those who graduate are given brand-new running and cycling equipment to keep to enable self-sufficiency through transportation.
Now, healthy eating is another part of the picture. With the help of On My Own 2 Feet volunteers, the Community Kitchen receives all the fresh produce and juice Swift's stores don't sell every day.
"I've seen a lot of people able to get dinner because of this partnership," Swift said, adding, "I see this lasting a long time."
Gustafson praised the Community Kitchen and the daily work the nonprofit does to feed the hundreds of homeless individuals locally, but also lamented that the homeless, especially parents with children, don't have much choice in what they eat every day. He said he hopes the new partnership can help give those in need more options in their day-to-day lives.
"A lot of this would be really hard for these people to get otherwise," Gustafson said of the nutrient-dense juice options. "We've been so grateful for [Swift's] help. Any time we've asked for anything, he has come through.
"We think of this as a sort of education, too," Gustafson added. "Giving people these healthier options incorporates nutrition into the fitness we try to provide. We want to encourage a healthy lifestyle."
For Swift, it is all part of a larger plan he has to encourage health and wellness throughout the region. He's started a program he calls "Planting Seeds to Prevent Disease," in which he and volunteers take time outside of their daily schedule to educate people on the health benefits of a plant-based diet and the consequences of over-consuming processed food.
This has meant sponsored health classes in local high schools and nutrition seminars to local church groups, book clubs and other civic organizations.
"We want to instill knowledge in people about what they're consuming," said Swift. "We think there's a lack of knowledge about the typical American diet, and we want to promote better education about that."
For more information, contact Asa Swift at asa@ilovejuicebar.com. For volunteer opportunities, contact On My Own 2 Feet & Wheels at 309-1278.
I Love Juice Bar has locations at 502 N. Market St., 5546 Highway 153, Suite 106, and 7407 Igou Gap Road, Suite 113.