A Deep Dive Into How My Hot Lunchbox Revolutionized School Lunches
Used by hundreds of private and charter schools across the country, My Hot Lunchbox has proven to be the most complete, budget-effective school lunch solution for those who need to offer a hot lunch option. In honor of it being National Women’s Small Business Month, we wanted to share the backstory of how this company started and shed light on some of the successes and obstacles along the way.
The Origin of the My Hot Lunchbox Concept
Founder and Managing Director, Jen Serino, started the My Hot Lunchbox company, almost inadvertently, back in 2011. The idea for the company blossomed entirely out of a need of her own, seeing that the only hot lunch option her kids were being provided were sub-par microwaveable meals guaranteed to be tossed in the trash. It was apparent that these meals were not providing students with the fuel they needed to perform well in school and packing a nutritious lunch each day was not always a solution as a working mom. She began scouting out healthier alternatives while also considering what kids would actually get excited about eating – and that’s when she thought to contact local restaurants in the area.
After receiving menus and pricing from local vendors, Jen contacted a third-party ordering platform to set this up for just her kids’ school. Once the lunch program was underway and word got out about this novel idea, it wasn’t long before she was contacted by two other private schools hoping to implement this lunch solution.
Measuring Success with a School Lunch Program
When running a school lunch program such as this, Jen shared that it’s not the financial success of the company but rather its community impact. It has always been her goal to fulfill the need for others that are experiencing the dilemma she once had. Jen shared that this was the primary reason she was able to fully establish the company with zero investment help – people could relate to her struggles and were ecstatic to see a solution. Being able to provide parents, students, and teachers across the nation with a better, healthier alternative to packing lunch is what she, and our company as a whole, values as success.
The COVID Impact
Much like any other business, My Hot Lunchbox was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with school and restaurant closures, increased health safety guidelines, working remotely, and so on. We had to adjust our processes and work alongside our partners to find solutions for each obstacle that presented itself. With that being said, the impact of the pandemic wasn’t all negative. In fact, we found that our lunch program was highly compatible with the need for individually packaged meals in the school community, as well as the corporate community, in turn bringing us new opportunities.
What’s Next for My Hot Lunchbox?
When asked what her main goal for My Hot Lunchbox is this next year, Jen shared that she wants to focus on staying customer-centric while successfully handling the growth of the company. She is focused on developing all aspects of the business to successfully fulfill the needs of customers, both new and existing. She is prepared to do so by building out new company departments, optimizing our ordering system to fit the needs of new clients, and focusing on effectively communicating with our users to provide them with the best lunch experience.
We can’t wait to continue building our community relationships and improving school lunches across the country! Have you been positively impacted by the My Hot Lunchbox program? Be sure to leave us a Google review!
