New Owners, Same Ample Pantry: Keeping the Homecooked Meal Tradition Alive
At The Ample Pantry, you get the delicious taste of a homecooked meal without the hassle of making it. We are keeping the same menu with expanded options and upgrades!
Melissa and Dave Shufelt recently purchased The Ample Pantry in Kalamazoo from the Farrell family. Although there has been a change in ownership, the tradition will remain the same – delicious, homecooked meals delivered right to your door. Locally sourced and made with love in every bite, our fresh ingredients will continue to take our food to the next level of taste, the taste of a homemade meal. We are more than family meals to go; we are also a family on the go and that is why we understand the importance of The Ample Pantry mission.
Anne’s mother, Phyllis Farrell, started The Ample Pantry while Melissa’s first memory of the restaurant is from her high school days. Melissa Shufelt’s favorite dishes are the hot chicken salad and beef kabobs while Anne’s favorite dishes are the chicken divan and chicken piccata. Passed along through caring, connected, and community oriented families; The Ample Pantry was founded by Phyllis in June of 1982.
As a working wife and mother, Phyllis Farrell knew the challenge of preparing a healthy homecooked dinner for her family each evening. An idea for providing wholesome evening meals to other busy Kalamazoo & Portage area families was translated into a unique & successful business – The Ample Pantry – a delivery service of hearty homestyle meals. A long career in food marketing and sales prepared Farrell for the business. While raising four children and working a job that required some travel, Farrell always made certain her family ate right. “If I was going to be gone for any length of time, I was up the night before preparing food for them,” she recalled.
After some research, Farrell concluded that no one had ever tried a delivery service of quality meals before. “Dominos was having great success with pizza, I figured someone could do the same with good homemade food,” she said.
The idea simmered in her mind for nearly 10 years. One day she found she was unemployed and decided this was the time to try it. Farrell set about planning the menus, with the primary ingredient being simplicity. Quality delivered food, at a modest price has since become the hallmark of The Ample Pantry. The menu has not changed significantly since the service began in June of 1982. Wholesome family favorites like meatloaf, turkey divan, and baked spaghetti are typical. “We try not to make any statements about our cooking,” said Farrell. “We don’t claim to be gourmet chefs. Our recipes are simple using fresh, quality ingredients. The idea is we do the cooking, so you don’t have to.” Ample Pantry dinner baskets are delivered to the customer’s door, with each meal packaged in oven board containers. The food arrives fully cooked, but cool, with instructions for warming in a microwave or conventional oven.
Soon after starting business, The Ample Pantry began getting requests from customers for lunch deliveries. A year and a half later, Phyllis took up the lunch challenge. The Ample Pantry now delivers lunch to area homes and businesses for six or more people with one day’s notice. The business has also expanded into our extensive take-out business, where people can just stop by and pick-up salads, soups, entrees, desserts, and more.
Run by the Farrell family for 40 years and now by the Shufelt family. We welcome you.