Maisa Abudayha, the co-executive director of Feast World Kitchen, has acquired Spokane-based meal-delivery company Pantry Fuel LLC.

Jennifer Stuchell, who founded Pantry Fuel in 2015, says she decided to sell her company following the birth of her second child.

Pantry Fuel operates out of a commercial kitchen at 1960 N. Holy Names Court, near the Spokane Falls Community College campus in northwest Spokane.

The company offers dietitian-approved, single-serve meals using whole-food ingredients that are locally sourced when possible.

Abudayha declines to disclose the terms of the transaction.

Under Abudayha's ownership, much of Pantry Fuel’s business model remains intact, but she is expanding the menu.

“I want to keep it the same thing, but I’m going to add more Mediterranean healthy food,” she says.

Mediterranean cuisine has many healthy options that fit with Pantry Fuel’s mission, says Abudayha, who grew up cooking and enjoying Mediterranean dishes.

Abudayha and her family immigrated to Spokane from her home country of Jordan in 2013 with hopes of raising her children in a safer environment and having more opportunities, she says.

“I came as an asylum seeker, and it takes six months until you get your paperwork,” she says. “I came to the U.S. for safety. I feel I’ve found myself over here.”

In Jordan, Abudayha was a programmer for Weight Watchers. She possesses a bachelor’s degree in information technology and an international stockbroker license.

Her first six months in Spokane were a struggle, as Abudayha and her family had to get by with no income and a limited budget, relying heavily on food banks, she says.

Abudayha eventually landed a job with Spokane Public Schools as a bilingual specialist and substitute teacher. In 2019, Abudayha’s passion for cooking led to her become the chef program director at Feast World Kitchen.

“Food was a bridge,” Abudayha says. “It’s still a bridge for me to reach the people over here and let people hear my voice”.

Feast World, located at 1321 W. Third, is a Spokane nonprofit restaurant, catering company, and food wholesaler that offers an incubator kitchen for immigrant and refugee chefs, enabling them to share their culture, earn money, receive business training, and potentially gain job recommendations, Abudayha says. Feast World features a rotating menu with cuisine created by different international chefs every day.

“This brings me a really good passion to help other people,” she says.

Acquiring Pantry Fuel is a dream come true, she says.

“I’m in a position that I want to do something good for my family, and at the same time, I want to do something good for the community,” she says.

Pantry Fuel meal deliveries will continue weekly throughout most of Spokane County, she says. Orders must be placed on the website by Wednesday at midnight, and deliveries will go out each Monday between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The rotating menu is updated every Thursday morning.

Meals are prepared over the weekend and are refrigerated, not frozen, which helps keep the ingredients fresh, Abudayha says.

Subscribers make up the majority of the company’s customer base, she says. Subscriptions aren't required to purchase meals, however.

“There are around 35 customers subscribed right now,” she says.

Last week, between subscribers and nonsubscribers, Pantry Fuel had 39 total customers, which added up to 116 meals that week.

Prices for meals typically range between $14 and $17, depending on the ingredients being used, Abudayha says. The menu also includes a variety of desserts and protein snacks that range from $5 to $7.

Depending on the meal, there are dairy-free, high-protein, and vegetarian options.

Most of the Pantry Fuel menu will remain gluten free, as it was under Stuchell’s ownership, but any items that include gluten—pistachio baklava, for example—will be labeled clearly as having gluten and will be prepared separately in the kitchen from gluten-free items, Abudayha says.

Customers can purchase meals individually, or they can choose between three-meal and five-meal plans. Family meals intended for four adults also are available.

In addition to an expanded menu, Pantry Fuel also offers catering services now, Abudayha says.

Pantry Fuel currently has four part-time employees and a full-time head chef—all of whom were with the company before the acquisition.

Abudayha says she will split her time between Pantry Fuel and Feast World.

Small Bites

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