Walking into Pasture and Plenty on Madison’s Near West Side is immediately a treat for the senses. From the long family-style wood tables to the warm glow of hanging globe pendant lights, the details harmonize in a way that feels intentional, inviting and contemporary. The pleasantness of both the interior and exterior, with its white facade and big street-facing corner windows, makes the business seem like an effortlessly natural addition to the neighborhood. But in fact, it has come a long way.

Owner Christy McKenzie makes the transformation sound like an emergence from a chrysalis. Extensive renovations of the former Sushi Box restaurant and adjoining space on Old University Avenue began in 2017. Drop ceilings gave way to lofty heights with high windows to let in lots of light. Old flooring was peeled away to expose stunning blue mosaic tiles. Walls were knocked down to make an open-concept dining room flexible enough to comfortably accommodate a full house. The doors to the renewed space officially opened in the summer of 2018.

Stripping away unnecessary elements to get back to the basics is a fitting analogy for the work McKenzie and her team are doing at Pasture and Plenty: bringing wholesome local foods to their community in formats that are accessible and convenient.

The impetus for Pasture and Plenty came from McKenzie and husband Tony Vandermuss’s experience as parents of young children, juggling full time jobs and trying to put healthy food on the table. They regularly received a CSA share from a local farm, and while the membership aligned with their values, a busy lifestyle often meant that produce ended up in the compost. McKenzie and Vandermuss suspected that they were likely not the only ones struggling with this problem and went to work figuring out a solution that allowed people to continue to support local farmers while saving time and cutting back on waste. The answer came in the form of a subscription-based meal kit service using locally sourced ingredients. Essentially, a CSA box transformed into easy and delicious ready-to-eat meals.

“We wanted to give folks who felt like they were making a compromise for convenience another option,” said McKenzie.

Today Pasture and Plenty has more than a hundred active meal kit subscribers and works with dozens of local farms. Meal kit subscriptions are available for one-, two- or four-person households and include one cook-it-yourself kit with pre-portioned ingredients ready to be assembled, one ready-to-eat meal, and one “farm-to- freezer” meal. Like CSAs, the kits are available for weekly pick-up or delivery. All meals in the kits are made from scratch in-house by Pasture and Plenty chefs. Recipes are determined by the season and change each week.

But you don’t need to be a meal kit subscriber to enjoy Pasture and Plenty’s offerings. The location offers a seasonally inspired daily menu, including grain bowls, sandwiches, soup and salads. Customers can also grab individual farm-to-freezer frozen entrées that can be reheated at home, as well as a curated selection of wine and gourmet goods from regional producers.

“Our focus is on craft and quality,” McKenzie explained. “We want to support farms that are making good agricultural choices and invest in building sustainable farm models while promoting awareness and educating local consumers on all the good work being done in the region.”

Part of what makes Pasture and Plenty so special is its complex identity. In addition to being a developer and distributor of meal kits, a casual eatery and a specialty store, it also hosts pop-up dinner events, workshops ranging in topics from fermentation to food photography, and a weekly collaboration with local duo Elemeno, featuring hand-pulled noodles and creative desserts. Local emerging chefs and artisans can find a welcoming stage for their work because it is more than a restaurant. Pasture and Plenty is a community resource where people can feel at home and learn something new, all while enjoying great food.