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MCP ’11’s Cassandria Campbell traces her interest in food to her first summer job where she worked with the Food Project on farms in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and the Boston neighborhood Roxbury, where she grew up. “I really enjoyed the experience of seeing things grow,” he recalls, “and I appreciated how much change he’s made in Roxbury by bringing people together and turning vacant lots into productive urban farms.” She decided to dive into the food industry full time, founding Fresh Food Generation, which sought to make healthy food options more accessible, until she returned to Roxbury after graduation.
Campbell became acquainted with the growing healthy, fast-paced daily meal options movement while earning her master’s degree in urban planning development at MIT. A moment of clarity came as he was leaving the Roxbury YMCA one night and realized that the only dinner venues nearby were “unhealthy” fast food restaurants as opposed to those near MIT. “It just hit me. Fast food shouldn’t be your only option,” she says. “People are having lower-quality life experiences because of their food choices.”
To solve the problem, he had the idea of a company that would offer healthy, quick casual, Caribbean-inspired meals made with locally sourced ingredients. Fresh Food Generation started as a food truck in Roxbury and nearby areas and hired experienced chefs to develop menus. While the truck is still operational, the company has since expanded its catering focus, teaming up with organizations that want to serve healthier and more culturally relevant meals at their events.
Two weeks into the pandemic, Fresh Food Generation received a call from the Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Foundation wanting to work together to provide meals to people struggling with food insecurity. The company has partnered with Mass General Brigham to ship customized grocery boxes to Medicaid recipients with special nutritional needs. The company has also moved to home delivery of prepared meals and even started shipping nationwide.
Recently, Fresh Food Generation released a menu inspired by New Orleans chef and civil rights activist Leah Chase. “Eating interactively with people was really fun. It becomes an experience – it becomes about storytelling,” Campbell says.
And in 2021, the company opened a permanent restaurant in Dorchester. “I really enjoy being able to provide food to people with love and knowing that what I give someone will taste good and be good for their body,” she says.
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