Two University of Michigan students have launched Fruit Fairies, a company they say will make healthy food more affordable and more accessible for college students.
“Over 60 percent of our student sample claimed that they felt driven to improve their diets, yet were not able to because the healthy options available to them were unaffordable or inconvenient,” says Densu Dixon, who co-founded the company with Eric Jensen, both sophomores at Ann Arbor-based university.
A study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior last year found that nearly 60 percent of college students at some point during the previous year had limited or uncertain access to nutritious and safe foods.
Fruit Fairies offers a subscription service that delivers healthy food baskets to students once a week. Options include fruit, vegetable, nut/seed, fruit/snack, and soylent — a nutrient drink.
The co-founders say they will reduce costs by running only on Sundays, delivering baskets themselves, and buying the food in bulk from wholesale distributors.
The Fruit Fairies team first presented their idea in January at a startup competition and made it to the semi-finals. They also have launched a Kickstarter campaign.
For more information, visit fruitfairies.com.
