Eat Sprout: Healthy, Sustainable Cooking with a Heart
When Ryan and Emily Groll both lost their jobs in 2015, they could have pounded the pavement to look for replacements. They had a new baby and a new home; they needed the income. Instead, the couple if you’ll excuse the pun, got cooking.
It started with a good deed. They had a friend who was going through a bad time, and they made him some food, as people often do to help a neighbor out. They cooked in batches, packed up containers and dropped it off – and he loved it. So much so that he asked them to make more; much more.
“It became a little like cooking Thanksgiving every week, but he started paying us and it was a source of income,” said Ryan. “We began to wonder what he was doing with all the food,” and it turned out “he was giving it away to others; we were feeding six or seven families.”
Soon, those families and their friends reached out to the Grolls, and Eat Sprout was born. Healthy, locally sourced food was something people wanted, and it was an undeniable opportunity. Unable to find a brick-and-mortar cooking location, the Grolls built their own - creatively. They outfitted a food truck they could park in the driveway of their home where they had a well and septic. The became licensed by Talbot County. By early 2016 they had on staff and were cooking and delivering all over the region.
“By then, we needed a bigger kitchen because people wanted our food on a regular basis, and it was not sustainable in the truck,” Ryan said. They built a kitchen in Easton with a little retail area in front and opened in 2018. The plan worked – they were cooking less and stocking the store more. In 2019 they opened a location in St. Michael’s.
“Our strategy is a hub-and-spoke model,” Ryan said. “We cook in one location and distribute to many.”
Before COVID-19 they had dozens of licensed refrigerators across Talbot County which they refer to as ”Sproutlets.” Many were at gyms and studios, most of which were removed during the closure. Some remain in place however, mostly at local businesses such as Choptank Transport, Ryan reports. “It’s a food desert for many companies (outside core areas) and this keeps fresh, healthy food in people’s reach.” During COVID, their core customer base continued to support the business.
Because the food is so fresh, it has a shelf life. When that nears, they donate food to local shelters. Ryan and Emily are proud of that, noting “Our cooking has a near-zero waste cycle.”
During the worst of the pandemic, Sprout donated 5,000 meals to those in need. They did it by raising $30,000 in $5 increments, selling “Feed the Front” stickers from their locations and online. A second initiative, called “Farm to Friends,” helped create a CSA-style box of food from farmers who had lost their school and restaurant contracts and had surplus. Those were delivered to families who lost jobs and the elderly who could not go out to shop.
What brings people to Sprout is Ryan and Emily’s commitment to fresh and healthy foods. They stock breakfast, lunches, wraps, salads, artisanal bread, allergy-aware products, and they work to expand offerings and increase the company’s culinary skills with each hire.
They have tremendous commitment to support local farmers, buying from across the region, some year-round and some seasonally. Their packaging is made from plant products and is compostable. Their compost goes back to the farmer from whom they buy their pork products to complete the circle.
Ryan has a Master’s in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition and says he’s always been a foodie who worked in the hospitality industry. Emily has a similar background and served in the military, where she attended culinary school, cooking food on base and serving inflight as a flight attendant.
Today, with two children, a strong reputation for supporting their community and a thriving business, the Grolls are looking forward. “It’s been humbling to create something people appreciate and enjoy,” said Ryan. “It was something we did not realize until after we did it.”
In September, Eat Sprout has some seasonal recipes coming into the cycle, including “a really cool local apple cranberry pie for Labor Day with a scratch-made organic crust and local apples,” said Ryan. They are also highlighting simmered honeypot chicken with local bock choy from Baywater Farms in Salisbury, and a roasted street corn side dish.
The couple plan to open a new café and add more Sproutlets this year.
Eat Sprout
335 N. Aurora Street, Easton, MD
114 S. Talbot Street, St. Michaels, MD
Facebook Instagram
