New Sonoma meal delivery service redefines healthy eating

When Alanna DeSalvo and Seth Johnson got to talking at a Christmas party last year, neither of them could have anticipated that they would be embarking on a meal delivery business together less than a year later.

Sonoma-based With Thyme Provisions, the brainchild of Johnson – a Sonoma chef – and DeSalvo – a holistic nutritionist – launched in August with a mission of providing nutritious precooked meals for customers in Sonoma, Petaluma, Napa and Marin.

The business aims to provide a convenient and sustainable answer to the age-old question “what’s for dinner?” by offering chef-prepared, nutritionist-curated meals delivered weekly directly to clients who may not have the time or ability to cook themselves.

“I think we both independently had this idea,” Johnson said. “You know, there’s a lot of meal delivery options that are not necessarily local businesses. There’s not this localized business that’s also reaching out to the local farmers and purchasing at markets and it seemed like, okay there are a lot of working families, lots of people that want healthy foods and don’t necessarily have the skill set or time or inclination to do it themselves.”

Each week With Thyme Provisions sources seasonal ingredients from local farmers markets before putting together their new menu. Customers can place an order for the week by Thursday evening for two entrees – or four servings – or three entrees – six servings – to prepare for their week ahead.

The meals have a focus on ensuring that customers get the macronutrients – carbohydrates, proteins and fats – they need, and are organic, gluten and refined sugar free and plant-based when possible. Clients also receive four individual portions of a weekly snack, which alternates between sweet and savory options. Also available is a subscription service to avoid delivery fees.

The meals are prepared and then delivered straight to the customers’ doorstep in reusable, insulated bags each Tuesday afternoon. The containers used are compostable. Customers just need to reheat the meals according to package directions.

At her nutrition business, With Thyme Nutrition, DeSalvo said that when working with her clients, one of the biggest obstacles for improving diet and overall well being is getting people to eat out less and cook for themselves more.

“One of our missions is to make it easier for just busy individuals or modern families to be able to have an easy, accessible option to healthy meals,” DeSalvo said. “I wanted to provide a solution where people don’t have to sacrifice spending time with loved ones or other commitments, and that they have a trustworthy source to help delegate that and to still really nourish themselves.”

With Thyme Provisions also works to directly support the community that they feed. Each week DeSalvo and Johnson shop at farmers markets like the Agricultural Institute of Marin, the Napa Market and the Petaluma Farmers Market to have the opportunity to hand-pick organic and locally grown produce. The two also have plans to work directly with local poultry farms and dairies in the future.

“We want to meet a lot of nutritional values, obviously but definitely prioritize fresh, organic and locally sourced ingredients,” DeSalvo said. “We’re able to create this kind of cyclical support system while we’re supporting our local community through local farmers and then feeding our community through these healthier meals.”

Instead of just providing ingredients for customers to use to cook their own meals – such as larger delivery services such as Blue Apron or HelloFresh – chef Johnson cooks the meals, ensuring that the meals are tasty as well as nutrition-dense.

Johnson’s culinary background includes training at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America and under some of the world’s most renowned chefs including Daniel Humm at Eleven Madison Park in Manhattan.

Despite the difference in dining caliber Johnson was accustomed to in New York, he insists that the approach he and DeSalvo take to preparing meals for customers throughout Sonoma, Napa and Marin is the very same to that of the places where he previously worked.

“What we’re serving wouldn’t be considered fine dining necessarily, but it really comes down to the respect for the product, which is something that was instilled in Eleven Park [and] which I think shines through in every plate of food here,” Johnson said. “We’re looking to bring interesting techniques and to have the vision transferred to the plate. When you open the box and you see what’s inside, it should still have that striking effect and in turn taste good and make you feel good.”

Since making their first delivery on Aug. 27, With Thyme Provisions now serves around seven to 12 weekly customers and is looking to expand to cover more areas throughout the Sonoma Valley and Bay Area. However, the co-founders are proud of how far they’ve come in the two months since they started.

“It feels really good to – in less than a year – have a concept that’s actually built out and working,” said Johnson. “Growing this little thing that we have into what we envision it becoming – which is something really impactful for people’s health and giving them the opportunity to eat really well without a whole lot of work and the worry of a bunch of plastic ending in their trash each week.”

For more information, visit With Thyme Provisions at withthymeprovisions.com

You can reach Staff Writer Isabel Beer at 707-933-2734 or [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @IsabelSongBeer