These Vegan Vending Machines Are Coming For SF

Food startup leCupboard opened its Church Street kitchen storefront in June, serving “plant-based” (read: vegan) food in person and with a smile. But future customers should prepare for a much more technologically advanced approach: leCupboard plans to expand with mobile leCupboard vending machines, placing them at two yet-to-be-announced locations in San Francisco next month.

Think of leCupboard as Redbox for vegan food, or as a mini, mobile version of eatsa, the expanding group of automat-style restaurants serving quinoa bowls through a system of iPads and lockers. leCupbaord pitches itself as a “full-stack foodtech startup” with a “soil to software” approach, a description that’s probably only appetizing to Silicon Valley investors. Non-technical diners will be more focused on leCupboards pretty-looking food offerings, like chia pudding breakfast jars, lentil salads, and zucchini noodles with walnut pesto, all in nicely-designed to-go boxes. Founded by Moroccon entrepreneur Lamiaa Bounahmidi, leCupboard is the customer-facing portion of her company Looly, a public benefit corporation which boasts over $2 million in funding according to AngelList.

leCupboard

leCupboard’s social mission is “turning our food system rightside up.” That goal will also determine the placement of its mobile cupboards, a representative from the company says. Expect to find them in places where customers might not already have access to healthy food, like hospitals, offices, and food deserts.

For now, leCupboard’s Noe Valley location (1298 Church Street) is open Tuesday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (closed Mondays).