Updates Since Launching:
With your help so far, I've used the $10,000 to pay for the Spring, Summer, and Fall box! Now I only need $3,500 more to pay for the Winter box inventory! You guys are amazing!
I was a speaker for Creative Mornings Buffalo speaking on Food & Folklore and was written up the University at Buffalo as an alumni story!
What Is Read It & Eat?
Calling all self-proclaimed bookworms and gourmet-loving foodies: Read It and Eat is the subscription box of your dreams. Read It and Eat boxes are sent quarterly, and always include a gently used book, a delicious treat that supports a small business, and a $5 donation to fight hunger in partnership with a local non-profit. Our ultimate goal is to Do Good by Fighting Hunger.
What We're Trying to Do
I created Read It and Eat because I noticed a several gaps in the market:
- Although there are many subscription boxes for readers, they mostly focus on Young Adult and Fantasy books. This limitedness is a bummer for most readers . Why isn't there a fun subscription box for people who are interested in non-fiction books?
- We've all wanted to try and explore new cuisines. But the pandemic has left us largely at home. How do you know which foods to try and how can we support the small businesses and artisans greatly impacted by COVID-19?
- We want to give back to communities who are struggling with hunger, especially with COVID-19 exacerbating the problems, but we aren't sure how.
How are we doing this?
Why are we raising money
For the first $13,000, this funding would cover the inventory required for all four quarterly boxes of the Read It and Eat program and the inventory of the Blind Date with a Book program. A reminder that this inventory funding allows me to continue to work with small businesses and pay these artisans fair prices. I've also broken out separately the donation components for all of the programs. This represents 200 boxes per program.
The Goodies
This is Read It & Eat, so of course I have some amazing exclusive crowdfunding gifts for you! I created three exclusive boxes that you will only receive as a donor! Each box comes with, per usual, a gently-used food writing book, a delicious foodie treat (supporting small businesses), and $5 from each box from the crowdfunding boxes will be donated to fight hunger in a variety of ways.
The Charcuterie Box - $75
Breadsticks crowdfunding campaign. As a thank you, you have received the Read It & Eat Charcuterie Box, a fundraising EXCLUSIVE box. There's never a bad time for Charcuterie, right?
At the heart of charcuterie are three things, at least in my mind: meat, cheese, and nuts. I've included in this box some amazing snacks & meats from small businesses and we're donating to the Good Meat Project, the non-profit that supports Meat Collectives all over the United States!
The Truffle Box - $100
I will completely admit, I didn't get the hype about truffles at first. Then I read The Truffle Underground and my mind was blown. There is so much culture and history around the truffles. I've included two different truffle treats that you can customize to your liking. Explore! Be Bold!
I also am donating to Big Big Table. This is a new non-profit in Buffalo, NY with a pay-as-you-can pricing model. I want to support new non-profits in my town and I think this model is so accessible. This is quite literally fighting hunger by making the pricing accessible. I'll be using the funds from this box to donate plenty of delicious food for their menus.
The Wine Box - $125
Wine has always been an elusive thing to me. Does this taste like Sonoma? What is terroir? Why am I not seeing any female sommeliers? WINE GIRL by Victoria James opened my eyes to a whole new side of the wine world and also exposed more of its harsh underbelly.
I also am donating to Wine Empowered, which provides professional growth for women an minorities in the hospitality industry. It might not seem like a direct link to fighting hunger but in my eyes, the hospitality industry provides jobs and keeps meals on the table and providing resources for career advancement is a financial way to fight hunger.
Buffalo-Event | Chocolate Making Event - $200
On February 19th, I'm hosting a chocolate making class with Sweet Whisk! The Sweet Whisk Chocolate & Pastry Boutique creates small batch, hand crafted chocolates using some of the worlds finest ingredients. The class is open to eight couples or a total of 16 individuals! Everything we do for Read It & Eat has a donation component and we'll be donating $20 from each ticket will be donated to Feed WNY. Each donation represents two tickets and one special Read It & Eat box along with all the chocolate goodies you will make during the class you get to take home!
- $50 To Sweet Whisk (small business in Buffalo)
- $20 donated to Feed WNY
- $50 Chocolate Read It & Eat box
About Me, Kim!
My name is Kimberly and I love everything food. I've spent the past five years working in consumer product goods, which means, I have helped launch some of the food you eat. I've worked on plant-based milks, Planters snack nuts, and currently Halo Top ice cream. Within my career I balance creative marketing, trends and insights, and actual product development.
While advancing my career I really started to recognize how disconnected I was to my own food. Where did my food come from? Who was making my food? What was in my food?
I decided to expand my knowledge outside of my workday. This involved a lot of reading, writing, and research. It started with visiting grocery stores and purveyors specializing in local food. I started to take culinary boot camps, butchery classes, and techniques. I also had an unpaid internship with Food Tank to learn and write about food sustainability and food scarcity.
So what am I doing with all this new knowledge?
Back in May 2020, I launched my Youtube Channel to review and connect with other non fiction readers. I specialize entirely on food books an food writing. I also review fiction books with food at the focus as well.
In 2020, I launched Bookmarks & Breadsticks, LLC and launched my Read It & Eat boxes. These boxes reconnect people to food in three ways: introduce people to new foods, support small food purveyors and small businesses, and give back by fighting food scarcity and hunger.
In September 2021, I launched Blind Date with a Book. This is a perfect little gift giving tier for $25. The three components are similar to my other boxes, but focus on fiction books ranging from Romance, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, and Mystery. Why did I introduce fiction books? I did because I think the stories of the people behind the food and recipes is equally important. The stories can connect us to new cultures and worlds and also reconnect us to our own heritage.
