Our Health Community: Beth Jackson of Nourished

Tell us a bit about you and Nourished.

What has your path been leading to starting Nourished? When and why did you start this business? What is the business? Where are you located?

Hi! I’m Beth, Owner of Nourished, LLC. I began Nourished to create healthy food for Des Moines and surrounding communities. Before Nourished, I was a Doula in Des Moines from 2005-2017. A piece that I always loved about my Doula work was feeding the families I served as well as signing up for meal trains when other families were in need. But my true love for food really began by watching my grandfather and father in the kitchen. My fondest memory is smelling the fresh oatmeal bread baking and being first in line for a warm piece with butter. My grandfather is long passed but my dad still surprises me with a loaf here and there.

Nourished is handcrafted cuisine located right here in Des Moines. A weekly menu is distributed via my website for pickup in local to Des Moines. This menu is usually all vegan with occasional vegetarian options. Menu items usually include green salads, soups, delights, and hummus. Besides my own website, my items can also be found at The Iowa Food Cooperative at the Franklin and Satellite locations. I also am honored to also sit on the board of the IFC.

I am married to my husband of 16 years (been together for 24 years). We have two sons, Trey (15) and Elias (9). We also have a fun-loving pooch named Lua. We absolutely love living in Central Iowa, the heart of our city. I am proud to be a part of the Des Moines Community which supports local food and goods, cares about the environment, acts as an instrument of change, and is inclusive of all people.

What makes Nourished unique?

A couple of things:
1) The salads are amazing by themselves, but I have had many people that order say that they are the perfect beginning to their own creations in the kitchen and I am absolutely delighted to hear that. When my food inspires others to create, that feeling is amazing.
2) Sustainability. For all my green salads I use plant based COMPOSTABLE containers. I accept the containers back so that I can take care of the composting for you.

How does your business help people?

I would like to think that Nourished helps the community it serves by not only making life easier with the meals I provide, but as my friend told me

“it feels like every time I take a bite of your food it is as if you are giving me a big hug”.

That is EXACTLY what I want people to experience when they eat the food I make.

What gets you up in the morning?

What gets me up in the morning is Eli… HA! Well I’m still not out of that phase yet, but in all honesty I am a morning person. I really do love getting up, taking the dog out, starting the coffee, and just getting my mind wrapped around the day.

What do you love about the Greater Des Moines community?

I 100% LOVE how the community SUPPORTS one another. One thing that I always tell myself and live by is there is absolutely enough room in the world for each of us to do what we love to do and to support the person standing next to us. I have found that surrounding myself with those people–the ones that are standing on the sidelines excited to see what is next–is that exact person I too am cheering for. Each of us has a gift, we all are here on the planet to hopefully do good and to help those that need it.

What’s next?

Oh what is next… Well when I began Nourished, one of my goals was to help the large food insecurity community, making food accessible to all. That is still a goal. The goal that is really on my radar currently is opening a certified kitchen. I would like to do this not only be more local (the certified kitchen I use is in Lucas, Iowa, which is 1 hour south of Des Moines) but I really have some amazing ideas that I hope (and know) will come to fruition.