COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — When a local mom found a way to turn her kid’s food allergies into a business, Snacktivist was born.
Baking gluten, egg, and dairy free bread may seem like a daunting task but Joni Kindwall-Moore accepts the challenge and with great flavor.
“I am very passionate about how our food impacts our health long term,” said Kindwall-Moore.
As a longtime ICU nurse at Kootenai Health she combined her knowledge of science and agriculture. Because of her family with strict dietary restrictions, she started creating her own bread and dessert dry mixes. When co-workers started asking for her mixes Snacktavist was brought to life. It quickly turned into something so much bigger than expected.
“There is a lot of focus on health food these days but not a lot about how food impacts our climate,” said Kindwall-Moore.
Joni wants to make eating a weapon against climate change by using sustainable ancient grains grown locally in Idaho and Washington.
“How can we make the world better by rethinking about the problem in a new way, that's why we aren’t just a little baking company but trying to make a global shift,” said Kindwall-Moore.
A big focus of hers in 2020 is baking and creating mixes with quinoa grown in Idaho.
“These are quinoa flake chocolate chip cookies. Scientists here is Washington and Idaho are looking at quinoas that are more heat tolerant so they can grow in Eastern Washington. I feel this desperate need to redefine a sustainable category that could feed a whole population and give them well rounded health,” said Kindwall-Moore.
As a female entrepreneur, nurse, and mother this process wasn’t easy, but didn’t slow Joni down.
“It’s a bigger challenge than we ever set out to do,” she said. “Because we want to really change an entire industry we think ourselves as problem solvers first and food manufacturers second. We hope to grow into a global brand making a global footprint.”
You can purchase pancake, brownie, flat bread, and falafel mixes on Amazon and local retailers in the area.