Kate's Story

 

Orchestra Provisions was founded by Kate Stoddard, a native Idahoan with intertwined passions for nature and the nourishment it provides. Kate's career as a wilderness river guide instilled a keen sense of stewardship and duty to protect, and educate people about the importance of wild, natural spaces. Kate obtained a masters in the science of nutrition from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. It was here that Kate focused her energy toward food systems and necessary education regarding the search for regenerative solutions. This inevitably led to the great matter of feeding a flourishing population of humans. 

While studying lifecycle nutrition and iron deficiency anemia, Kate came across such a solution. Her research resulted in an obsession regarding tribal communities in Zimbabwe who, despite their vegetarian diets, were able to avoid this number one global public health concern. The answer? They weren't completely vegetarian, they ate grubs that were incredibly rich in heme-iron, and when dehydrated, very shelf stable. This led her to an onslaught of research including a UN and FAO report on the viability and sustainability of feeding billions of mouths with insect protein.

Kate instantly ordered all of the insects she could find for her kitchen, and it probably won't come to a surprise that they were challenging to incorporate into her diet. This is where Orchestra was born and a philosophy that insects can be used as ingredients and don't have to be eaten whole to reap the nutritional and sustainable benefits of this incredible superfood staple, and so Orchestra's delicious superfood blends were created!

Kate is mother to an amazing child Wren, and as all mothers, incredibly dedicated to the future.