According to media sources, Just Add Cooking (JAC), the Boston, Mass based meal kit company specializing in locally-sourced meals from the New England has ceased operations. JAC was trying to capture the market for locally sourced foods

We are local to Greater Boston and think our ingredients should be too. That’s why we partner with New England producers and suppliers to minimize food miles and maximize freshness We source the freshest ingredients from highly responsible local producers and artisans for our meal kits. You can be confident that your meals are as sustainable and flavorful every time.

The news of shutdown was sent by an email to customers by the company’s founder Jan Leife.

Over the past several months, we’ve been focused on finding a long term financing solution. As meal kit companies have shuttered and others have been bought by large companies, the market hasn’t played in our favor, and unfortunately we have not succeeded in finding a viable solution for long-term financing.

In an interview with BostInno in April this year, CEO Jan Leife said that at that time, the company had an ongoing seed round seeking $1 million, and it secured a $500,000 investment from an undisclosed angel group.

In October, the company explored an alternative way to raise funding by launching a WeFunder crowdfunding campaign to raise a target of $300,000. The plan was to use the investment to expand the service in the Northeast and introduce a second-generation, highly personalized meal solution platform powered by artificial intelligence, the company wrote in a blog post.

According to thespoon.tech, Jan Leife responded with the following statement:

“Currently we are seeking a company who could continue to serve our customers or meet their needs in a different way.

In our six years of operation, we have built a community of thousands of loyal customers passionate about local food. A recipe database with hundreds of recipes that utilize local ingredients and are created with the financial and logistical restraints of meal kits in mind. We enjoy a strong brand recognition in New England and been awarded Best of Boston 2018 by Boston Magazine.”