Kenny’s Meals: How a Chef with Kidney Disease Became a Big Help to Food Insecure, Pregnant Women in New Jersey

Last year, NourishedRx began working with a New Jersey-based health plan to support food-insecure pregnant women in the state. In setting up the program, the health plan expressed a strong preference for local suppliers. That’s a goal we share because we believe that’s the ideal way to source nutritious food and bolster the local food infrastructure.?

?In our search for the best-prepared meal providers in the area, Kenny's Meals immediately stood out. Working with Kenny Garcia and his team has been great for everyone, especially our program participants, who get to enjoy Kenny’s delicious, healthy meals.?

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A Life Changing Condition

?Kenny grew up in Ewing, New Jersey, with a passion for food and cooking. As an adult, he worked as a programmer but found it slow-paced so he went back to school, got his culinary degree and began to live his passion through a series of jobs as an executive chef, a corporate chef, and the food operations manager for a school district.?

Then, at age 25, life took a drastic turn. His kidneys began to fail due to a genetic condition, and he was forced to begin dialysis. Suddenly, he no longer had the energy, capacity, or time to work as a chef, exercise regularly, or do any of the other things that had made his life so fulfilling before.?

?Kenny was resilient, though, and determined to find ways to improve his quality of life. He trained as a dialysis technician so he could do his own dialysis at home and he decided to lean on his know-how as a chef to see how diet and nutrition could help him manage the side-effects of his disease.?

Through research, he expanded his understanding of the power of food to promote health. For example, he learned about the benefits of healthy oils like olive oil, which are rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric, and the importance of fresh vegetables and lean proteins. He found that when he used such ingredients in his meals, his joint pain went away, and his energy levels went up. He even experimented by comparing how he felt one week of eating healthy foods to how he felt when he resumed a normal American diet. The difference was startling.?

?As Kenny puts it now, “It’s really just common sense. Every cell in your body is made from what you eat. So the better quality food you take in, and the more you exercise and look after yourself, the healthier you are.”?

?Kenny’s friends noticed how much his new diet impacted his health and asked if he could meal prep for them, too. Soon, word about Kenny’s meals spread, and suddenly he was making 200 meals a week out of his own house for people who wanted healthy prepared meals.?

?He called his new business Body Health, but everyone kept asking for “Kenny’s Meals,” so it became Kenny's Meals .

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A New Beginning

?Kenny’s life changed again when his cousin donated a kidney to him. Very quickly, his energy levels returned to normal,, and he resumed working out five or six days a week. He also had renewed energy for Kenny's Meals , and the business grew even faster than he could have imagined.?

?Many customers wanted two or even three meals daily. Some customers were pressed for time because of work or family obligations. Others didn’t like cooking or valued the ease with which they could now get pre-made healthy meals. And then there were also fitness fanatics and bodybuilders who counted every calorie and wanted to maximize their health.?

Kenny brought his understanding of nutrition into every ingredient and meal decision. He uses locally sourced seasonal produce as much as possible. Meals are made fresh the day before, so they’re never loaded with sodium and preservatives like many frozen prepared meals. Kenny has also managed to keep costs low enough that meals can be priced below $10 to make them affordable for most people.?

?Instead of operating on a subscription model that locks customers into an inflexible schedule, Kenny’s developed an app that allows them to order meals according to their needs. The fact that retention rates are over 85% speaks to the value customers get. The app also enables customers to set their health goals and identify their food preferences with meal orders.?

?Recently, Kenny's Meals has opened two physical locations with kitchens and storefronts to enable customers to select their food in person, buy supplements, and even use an onsite body composition scale to assess their body mass versus lean muscle mass.

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Connecting with NourishedRx

?We first contacted Kenny several years ago when the program for pregnant mothers was still in development. Kenny was thrilled to have the opportunity to help support people who are food insecure. He provided some sample meals for us to try and we were over the moon with the quality of the ingredients and the taste.?

?When the program launched, Kenny was ready. Today, he provides prepared meals to around 30 women enrolled in the program. We tailor the meal choices according to each recipient’s health needs and personal preferences, but the meals Kenny prepares are of the same quality and great taste as the ones his commercial customers get, and they’re delivered in the same refrigerated trucks. Recipients get text updates to know when their deliveries are scheduled and when they’re near arrival. Kenny knows pregnant women are often busy with medical appointments, so the updates help them plan their days.?

?“It’s amazing,” Kenny says, “to be able to provide healthy meals to people who need them so much.”?

?Kenny plans to continue to grow his business sustainably with people who share his passion and values. As he puts it, “Every business decision I’ve made has been focused on finding ways to bring healthy meals to more people. I look at the financials, too, of course, but the real purpose is to help people feel healthier and enjoy great meals.”?

?We’re looking forward to helping Kenny reach more people in need in the years to come.?

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