With an optimistic attitude and a can-do mentality, NW Peoria resident and small business owner Thanou Thammavongsa is crowdfunding for a cause he believes in: a health-oriented start-up. Through his crowdfunding campaign, he hopes to launch Westy’s Organic Kitchen & Juice to give his community healthier eating options.

The crowdfunding campaign (found at westysorganic.com) runs until October 17 and revolves around meeting the need of the community for healthier food options by serving locally sourced organic produce and food. The campaign is about getting back to basics: real organic food served with a community-centric heartbeat. Future goals for Westy’s include community cooking classes and events to discuss healthy eating featuring local contributors from the holistic medical field and food industry.

The idea for Westy’s was inspired by Thammavongsa’s brother-in-law, who is aggressively (and successfully) fighting colorectal cancer, and the family attributes it in part to a cleaner diet, solely being plant-based and organic.

“If anything comes from this crowdfunding effort, we would like to let our community know that someone here cares for those who need better food options, especially for those who are fighting health issues of all kinds,” says Thammavongsa. “This effort is to be a service to those who need it most because that’s what community is truly all about. We will start small, and start however possible, but this needs to get done; our community needs us. I hope this inspires others to do the same for their own city.”

Westy’s looks to start up with three different approaches based on what the community raises:
• $50,000 would get them started with a ghost kitchen occupancy to start serving the community all-organic salads, sandwiches, and cold-pressed juices, and would introduce their “Hope Bus” where other business owners would sponsor fresh organic juice for cancer warriors around Northwest Peoria.
• $175,000 would get them started with their own location around Northwest Peoria; they are hoping for a small storefront for grab-and-go and dine-in options.
• $300,000 would help them develop a larger store front to introduce classes, events and gatherings for the community to discuss healthy eating as well as have nutritionists and naturopathic professionals as frequent contributors.

To help support this crowdfunding initiative, and for more information, visit westysorganic.com.