Local mom makes healthy food her business

By Erika Neldner On a mission to find nutritious food for her son, Agatha Achindu, of Woodstock, created a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic baby food business. Yummy Spoonfuls was created after Achindu started trying to find healthy baby food for her son, only to realize that things on the market are filled with preservatives and chemicals and lacked the staple nutrients growing bodies need. She said she used to live under the umbrella that she shouldn’t have to worry about other people’s children. But after delivering a healthy boy, she changed her mind. For years, she was making baby food for her friends and church members. “It didn’t matter to me,” she said. “I loved to do it.” So many people were coming to her that, in 2006, Yummy Spoonfuls was born. Achindu uses only USDA certified organic produce in Yummy Spoonfuls meals. She makes sure the foods she uses were not grown using chemicals and pesticides. Because the Georgia red clay isn’t very accommodating to growing food, she chooses to buy her food from local markets and produce distributors—all of which must be USDA organic certified. She shops with Destiny Produce in Forest Park, the DeKalb Farmer’s Market, and some local growers who have the USDA organic certification. Achindu cooks on certain days of the week, but nothing is stockpiled. “If you walk up to me today and say, ‘I want a case of this,’ I won’t have it to give to you,” she said. “We ship it fresh. We cook it when it is ordered.” Everything is prepared at Yummy Spoonfuls’ Marietta-based commercial kitchen. There are three stages of products parents can get from Yummy Spoonfuls. Stage one—Creamy Yummy—is for infants ages 4 months to 6 months. They are single item ingredients pureed to a creamy texture for a baby who is starting to be weaned. At this age, the main source of baby’s nutrients still comes from breast milk or formula. At this stage, infants are being trained to eat and get used to the change from sucking to eating from a spoon. In Stage 2, or Mushy Yummy, the foods “play with the senses,” and is geared toward babies 9 months to 12 months old. The texture is a little bit lumpy to encourage chewing. The servings are a mixture of tasty ingredients like butternut squash and apple or a vegetable medley. Stage 3 is for the avid eater, ages 12 months and older. The portion sizes are larger and meals are chunky, come in a variety of selections and help prepare toddlers for regular meals. Most portion sizes range from 4 oz. to 6 oz. and come shipped 12 at a time. The 48 oz. box costs $24 if it is bought directly from Yummy Spoonfuls. But they can be purchased from stores as well. Combinations came be made from the selections, which for Creamy Yummy include sweet potatoes, apples, papaya, peas, carrots, butternut squash, broccoli and others. Achindu said it’s the parent’s responsibility to properly train children to eat nutritiously. “We have to believe we can train our kids,” she said, adding if parents feed children healthy meals, they’ll grow up learning to make healthy food choices later. “My goal in life is to help every parent to have control on how their family eats.” Achindu also will teach parents how to cook healthy meals for their children. She conducts seminars for free if she’s asked to do so. In February, she will be conducting a seminar with North Fulton Regional Hospital’s pregnancy class. That is expected to be held Feb. 26. Arielle Henley, of Canton, recently attended one of Achindu’s seminars and had high regards for Achindu and what she taught. “A friend invited me, and I always try to attend events that have to do with children, and it was free,” Henley said. “We learned how to make popcorn and popsicles and to read food labels to help us make better food choices. It was a fun interactive workshop that (taught) about our kids’ health.” Henley is the mother of a 16-month-old boy named Joshua. Eating healthy isn’t something new to Achindu. She grew up in Cameroon, Africa, where her parents are from. They grew their own food or purchased it from a local market. “In Cameroon, we did,” she said of growing their own food. “It’s a different concept. A lot of people are farmers. Even if you don’t make you farm, you go to the markets every day and buy fresh produce.” She later moved to Nova Scotia and purchased fresh produce from the local market. For more information about Yummy Spoonfuls or to order, go to www.yummyspoonfuls.com or call (678) 464-3103.