GEETHA JAYARAMAN

Geetha Jayaraman, born in Malaysia and schooled in India and U.S., is a food entrepreneur of two related plant-based firms - Spoon and Sprout (@spoonandsprout ) and Grab 'Em Snacks. A lifelong vegetarian, Geetha raised 2 sons in NYC exurbs by preparing delicious plant-based items for their after-school snacks, parties at home and managing the cafeteria at Ridge High tournaments with hundreds of hungry, fiercely debating students from the TriStates! Spoon and Sprout started out as Grab Em Snacks, manufacturing plantain chips using freshly peeled green plantains, organic herbs and spices, expeller-pressed high-oleic oils, and sea-salt; after including a vegetarian cafe in NJ ( Spoon & Sprout ) and running it for 2+ years (and being prematurely branded 'too healthy for Central Jersey'), Geetha reinvented it in Brooklyn along three lines of plant-based offerings - Catering for Corporate lunches, weekend Pop-Up events, and Snacks. Mostly self-taught, Geetha STRONGLY promotes minimally processed and nutritionally well-balanced ingredient mix of perishables (seasonal vegetables, preferably from known farmers who practice Organic or IPM), non-perishables - pulses(legumes, grains, beans), herbs/spices, preferably organic, rather than highly processed meat-substitutes like seitan, Beyond X or Impossible X! In NYC, Geetha volunteered her craft and time: a Guest Chef appearance on EarthDay 2019 at Citi's (Global Headquarters) ThreeEightyAte Cafeteria , weekends as a Demo Chef at GrowNYC Union Square Green Markets ; fundraisers for "Immigrant Families Together" and local farmers ; Brooklyn Borough Hall's vegan meetups and numerous other Farmers Markets. Recently, Geetha has been exploring additional US locations e.g. San Antonio, TX: SA Pearl Farmer's Market Natural Grocers stores! Alamo Heights Farmers Market - Sundays 10-2 (the sole plant-based prepared food vendor) In Apr. 2020, Geetha won a scholarship and received Plant-Based Nutrition certificate from eCornell Center for Nutrition Studies; she plans to educate and help any (healthy) food desert in the nation to incorporate balanced plant-based dishes into people's lifestyles - the proven way to indulge healthily and boost one's immunity - especially in these uncertain times where everyone is learning to live with Covid-19 virus among us ! Besides curating plant-based food, Geetha leverages her 20+ years of corporate experience (in Fortune 100's, small businesses and non-profits) to help small to medium-sized businesses with their financial accounting and payroll processing needs !