MY STORY
Hello! My name is Alex or AK, and welcome to my Plant Pantry!
My vegan journey started back in 2015 when I was in high school Food Science. One day, we watched a documentary that advocates for plant-based, whole-food diets called Forks Over Knives, and something clicked inside my brain. Diets are nothing new to me and my family. My parents were on every diet growing up. But after watching Forks Over Knives, I realized why none of the diets we were on worked - while traditional diets felt limiting, plant-based diets felt like endless possibilities. Later that day, I told my mom, “We are doing this for a month to see how we feel!” Luckily, my mom loves to cook and was excited to try something new. We kept to the recipes from the Forks Over Knives website and everything was outstanding! We lasted the entire month, but I decided I missed pizza and chicken tenders too much… I know, I know, but I was in high school and just wanted to be “normal”!
Even though I didn’t stick with being fully plant-based right away, the seeds had been planted. Every time I ate meat, dairy, or used any kind of animal products, I would be thinking about veganism more and more. I went vegan on and off again after that but nothing permanent for 2 years. Then, in February of 2017, I had a horrible case of the flu for a week. By the time the week was over, it was almost as if my mind had a complete shift. I jumped straight into veganism and haven’t looked back since! In August 2017, I moved to Los Angeles, California. Luckily, L.A. is home to a HUGE vegan hub, and had a lot more exciting options than Texas had to offer.
What L.A. was building me to was turning my passion for food into possible business ideas. Even though COVID threw things off the rails a bit (understatement!), my momentum and my desire to reach my ultimate goal of opening my food business kept going. And fortunately for me, I was in a loving, sweet, caring relationship with my current partner, Elijah. Both Elijah and I decided to move back to Texas together because there were more chances for job opportunities and cheaper, well, everything. Even though the move was extremely difficult mid-pandemic and several job opportunities didn’t work out like they should have, all of this change led me to start AK’s Plant Pantry in August 2021! And now, when I think back at all of the events that led me here - watching Forks Over Knives, moving to LA and meeting Elijah - I believe I was always meant to be on this path.
As I write this in August of 2022, it has been one year since quitting my job and starting AK’s Plant Pantry. It’s been so amazing yet challenging and I wouldn’t want it any other way!
