My Own Meals Inc., A Tenacious, Efficient, and Inspiring American Company!

In August of 2010 1/5 of Pakistan's total land mass was under flood water.  During that month, My Own Meals in Deerfield, IL fed nearly 1/4 of the displaced population.


And that's the least remarkable story to come from this tough, tenacious little company. Who, by the way, are at the top of my list of favorite clients.


Mary Anne Jackson started the company on October 31st 1986, making kids meals.  She struggled to keep the company afloat for years, mostly without profit, until the government took control of all production of field ready food for the first Gulf war and nearly put them out of business.


With the tenacity of a terrier, a trait that would become the hallmark of Ms. Jackson, she fought the military to keep the company alive.  And yes, that is as difficult as it sounds.

I personally would have soiled myself, crawled in a hole, and died.  This however is not Ms. Jackson's modus operandi.  Instead she neatly sharpened her claws, went to Washington, and fought the Pentagon to save her company, it's at this time the Kosher and "Halal" (Muslim Koshering) program was added.


The fight took more than five years and cost over a million dollars.


With help, Marry Anne learned how to bid the government.


The Pentagon tried to stop Marry Anne by accusing her of Lobbying, which she was.  But because she had no income at the time, they couldn't, earning her the nickname "The Piranha!"  To this day there are people in the Pentagon that turn and walk the other way when they see her coming.


After 5 years of fighting and a million dollars spent, you guessed it!  The government gave the contract to 3 other companies who had "protected status".  Don't you love Washington?


That was it, game over, almost.  The other companies decided it was to much of a pain and bailed.

The government offered a concession in 96 by contracting My Own Meals to make meals for the military.  They also got the go ahead to make food for prisons, and "My Own Meals, when you have no other choice", became their unofficial slogan.


But that's not end of the struggle.  The Pentagon had/has a nasty habit of canceling orders mid production.


One time My Own Meals got stuck with 700,000 boxes of raisins.  They filled up every food depository in the Chicago-land area just to get rid of them.


After 17 years of struggle, My Own Meals saw their first real profit in late 2001 with the start of the second war.  When suddenly the company had to ship "everything" "yesterday"!


And to this day, that's how they do business.


My Own Meals is the opposite of government waste.  They run lite and lean, waiting patiently, their skills evolved over two decades of dealing with starvation and frustration.  Until the day, like back in August, when once again, they are called on to feed a desperate country.