North Coast Seafoods Harnesses the Power of Maine Kelp to Provide Healthy and Delicious Food Solutions for School Systems, Students and Faculty
North Coast Seafoods, a prominent East Coast-based supplier of sustainable seafood, is continuing their product innovations using ocean-grown Kelp (seaweed) from the cold, Atlantic waters of the Gulf of Maine. Most recent and noteworthy is their new Kelp Meatballs, now available for foodservice, K-12 school systems and higher education institutions.
Most recently profiled in the Boston Globe, North Coast’s “veggie nuggets” are seeing resounding success within the Cambridge public school system and kelp meatballs are gaining notoriety in higher education institutions such as Boston College. Kelp Meatballs were also chosen as the winner in Food Management‘s Best Sustainability Concept competition for 2023.
Kelp Meatballs, which can also be menu’d as Nuggets, are one-of-a-kind plant-based products that are trendy, delicious, healthy and effortless to prepare. These Kelp items are naturally vegan and gluten free with a clean label list of ingredients composed primarily of kelp, green chickpeas, brown rice and spices, rewarding a bright, herby, fresh flavor profile and umami richness.
Kelp Meatballs are made using sustainably grown kelp, farmed by independent family farmers in the cold, clean waters of Maine.
Not only is kelp known as one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, Kelp is also a hyper-efficient, regenerative, zero-input vegetable that requires no fertilizer, pesticides, feeds, soil or freshwater to grow.
In addition, kelp farms fight climate change by locally mitigating the effects of ocean acidification. North Coast Seafoods is proud to partner with Atlantic Sea Farms to procure their kelp and support ASF in surpassing their milestone of more than 150,000 lbs. of carbon removed from Maine’s waters to-date. Click here to learn more about Kelp and why we should all be eating more of it.
“Chefs and Foodservice operators ask me all the time, ‘What’s new out there?’. My immediate response is ‘Kelp from Maine!’, the most exciting food development I have seen in my 45 year career. This sea-vegetable is local, healthy, sustainable and delicious.” states Chef Andrew Wilkinson, North Coast’s Chef Director of Research and Development.
“At North Coast, we are not only focused on seafood sustainability but leaving this planet a better place than how we found it. Incorporating kelp into our products, like the Kelp Meatballs, gets us closer to that goal everyday by enabling us to reduce our carbon footprint, support the local economy and help preserve the Gulf of Maine while offering nutritious, sustainable food solutions. That is a WIN every way you look at it” states Rich Polins, Principal at NCS.
Kelp is packed with micronutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals like iodine, magnesium, folate, potassium, vitamin A and Vitamin B12. Kelp also has the highest concentration of calcium of ANY food, with more per ounce than milk!
Click here to hear from Chef Andrew Wilkinson, North Coast’s Chef Director of Research and Development, who has been focused on creating delicious, easy to cook Kelp products for more than two years.
Kelp Meatballs are available now for wholesale orders. To order or learn more about how to become a distribution partner or retail customer, please email customerservice@northcoastseafoods.com. For more information on North Coast Seafoods’ history of sustainable practices, wholesale information (HERE) or to order online, please visit here