A business that feels more like an extended family than a soulless enterprise, Sunday Farms is on a mission to help you eat nutritious food that you can trust, every day of the week. Founded in 2020, the business has since been delighting customers with deliveries of sustainable, pasture-raised, ethical meat sourced directly from Ontario farmers. Now flaunting a fresh new website, a slew of new features, and the exciting addition of seafood to its catalogue, Sunday Farms is revealing the newest chapter in its impressive story.
Sunday Farms is a passion project for husband-and-wife team Charlie Iscoe and Laya Bail. Since day one, the duo has been fiercely committed to sourcing sustainable, pasture-raised, ethical meat from Ontario farms that adhere to the highest standards of agricultural integrity and animal welfare. At the same time, the goal was also to spread awareness of the impact good food has on health — one’s own, and the planet’s. “From the beginning,” says Bail, “we both believed very strongly in the mission, which is to make this quality easier to access and better understood. There’s an access component and an education component.”
Offering door-to-door delivery and top-quality products, the team realized, was only part of the equation. The other? “The question is, ‘How do you get consumers to come around to this?’” explains Iscoe. “That’s where our job comes in, through marketing, through education and just getting people to understand what they’re actually eating and what their food dollars are supporting.” Eye-opening stats — such as the fact that only 2% of meat in Canada adheres to the standards of Sunday Farms, and that more than 95% of Canadian beef is processed by just three plants — stress the importance of the Sunday Farms mandate.
As the company grew — through word of mouth, positive press coverage, and repeat customers, thrilled by the quality of the product and the company’s top-notch service — Iscoe and Bail planned their next steps. “We’ve really been asking for feedback since day one,” explains Bail. “Like, ‘What do you think? What can we do to make this easier for you guys?’ And that feedback has really been the driving force to more of the updates that you see. We want to cater to what people need, what will make it easier for them to eat this way.”
This summer, the team unveiled a new website and changes including the flexibility of à la carte shopping, the option to place a single order or subscribe, a loyalty reward program, and a tempting new line of wild-caught seafood sourced from British Columbia. One of the largest direct-to-consumer providers of pasture-raised meat in Ontario, Sunday Farms’ upgrades have pushed the company to the forefront of a burgeoning business. “The thing that separates us, especially with our new site, is I don’t believe anyone’s providing the same level of convenience and customization and à la carte experience, with the quality and the standards that we abide by,” explains Iscoe. “The nuance too,” adds Bail, “is that a lot of people offer pasture-raised as a small option. …We really stand by that as the only quality that we support. Our point of view is that this is how meat should be raised across the board. We’re pretty unwavering in that.” From 100% grass-fed beef brisket to heritage breed pork shoulder and sausages, every item the company sells meets the team’s rigorous standards. “You have the assurance that our entire site, whether it be meat, seafood, everything we do, is at that quality,” adds Bail.
Peruse the Sunday Farms website and you’ll feel as though Iscoe and Bail themselves are holding your hand as you mull every decision. Have a question about the products? An extensive FAQ answers them all. Curious about the farmers? Meet each farm partner through profiles and pics. Not sure how to cook a certain cut? Each item includes recipe suggestions of tried-and-true family favourites. A family first, Iscoe and Bail want to help you eat as sustainably and healthfully as they do. “We’re just still trying to get the word out more and more because I think there are still a lot of people out there who are increasingly caring about what they’re putting on their family’s table,” says Iscoe. Recently, the couple has been working with a chef to develop and produce a line of prepared foods. “That’s going to be another big announcement at some point. We’re pretty excited about it, we just don’t know when,” explains Iscoe. “That, I’m so excited about,” adds Bail. “For me, we’re really coming through on the mission to make this easy for people. We’re realizing more and more what easy means.”
A company that isn’t just aware of what customers want but has actually taken steps to provide it, Sunday Farms has been winning people over since day one. Whether you’re happily subscribed or have yet to place your first order, each of the new changes is sure to impress. Visit the Sunday Farms website and join the family today.
