Somerset County Mom Starts Healthy Food Service For Local Students

BERNARDSVILLE, NJ — Tired of unhealthy and processed foods being served, Jess Mauceri took charge of her son’s diet.

The Bound Brook mom opened a food service business, What’s For Lunch, which serves up healthy, made-from-scratch foods at The School of St. Elizabeth in Bernardsville.

As a stay-at-home single mother, Mauceri was looking to get back into the work field after being home with her son for 12 years.

“I wasn’t sure what direction to go in,” Mauceri told Patch. “One day my son came home crying because he was in the lunch line for 20 minutes for a hot dog and they ran out.”

Mauceri talked with other parents at The School of St. Elizabeth and found the consensus was the same. The lunches were no good and processed. Mauceri took matters into her own hands and spoke with the principal, who was looking for a new food service company for the school.

Mauceri put a bid against the former company and won. For almost two years now, Mauceri’s business What’s For Lunch has been providing healthy meals for the students.

“I just cook food fresh from scratch every day,” Mauceri said. “I am very aware of allergies as well and make sure every kid in school can get something… My food service has brought the kids together more in a sense that more are buying lunch and lunch is a more enjoyable experience.”

The students buying lunch has doubled since Mauceri took over, she said. She gets to school every day at 7:30 a.m. to start cooking. And as a health coach, Mauceri creates the menu based on what is best for the students and athletes.

“We got rid of pizza, so I switched it to pasta bar Friday with three different sauces all made from scratch,” Mauceri said. “I also serve chicken soft tacos, chicken chili and a mashed potato bar.”

Along with the lunch service, Mauceri also runs a cooking school for students as part of after-school enrichment. Students are taught to cook and learn about different ingredients such as healthy grains including buck wheat, quinoa and more.

“It shows them how to get good carbs,” Mauceri said,

At the end of the program, the students cook a dinner for the parents.

Mauceri offers a take home service for parents too. Parents can order a healthy dinner ready to go at the end of school service to take home. And she also has grab and go snacks for athletes who need more protein after school sports practice.

With such success at The School of St. Elizabeth, Mauceri is hoping to expand her food service company in more local schools.

Mauceri also has a wellness business called Well Balanced Kids that specializes in working with families and individuals who need to gain more knowledge of fitness and nutrition. She offers a personalized meal plan service through there as well. For more information visit www.wellbalancedkids.com.

For more information on What’s For Lunch visit www.whatsforlunchmoms.com or Facebook.

(Photos provided: Jess Mauceri)

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.