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At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Syracuse University alum Jaclinn Tanney received a call. A 1,000-meal order from her catering that she’d already prepared had been canceled. While most would flounder, Tanney immediately pivoted, donating all 1,000 meals to emergency workers in hospitals.

It was then that Tanney decided to shift her business model away from catering and toward a company that served quality meals to not just hospital workers, but anyone in need of food.

This inspiration led her to launch JD Meals — a food service management company based in Queens that currently produces and sells thousands of cooked and shelf-stable meals daily to government offices, schools and other organizations. A portion of their profits is used to distribute meals to those without homes or experiencing hunger.

“We called upon all of our restaurant industry friends, we asked them to empty their kitchens so that we could cook and deliver meals to hospitals citywide,” Tanney said. “Very quickly during that process, we realized that the need went beyond the four walls of the hospitals.”

Having graduated from SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 2005 with a degree in policy studies, Tanney said the program’s emphasis on community engagement and service helped shape her career path.

She added that recently retired professor and founder of policy studies at Maxwell, Bill Coplin, was one of her primary influences at SU. His emphasis on “bringing your studies to life by applying yourself to the community” was important to her, she said.

Coplin noticed Tanney’s attention to detail and preparation immediately, which directly coincided with her starting JD Meals.

“She was unusual in that she didn’t say, ‘Oh, what can I do?’ She had specific questions. ‘What about this? What about that?’” Coplin said. “She was very mature, and she had a plan. I didn’t realize at the time she had a plan, but she obviously had a plan.”

Photo courtesy of Jaclinn Tanney

Jaclinn Tenney launched JD Meals — a food service management company based in Queens that currently produces and sells thousands of cooked and shelf-stable meals daily to government offices, schools and other organizations.

Today, JD Meals helps those experiencing food insecurity every day. It was important to Tanney that the meals weren’t just enjoyable but also culturally relevant and served with dignity. These two attributes became the pillars of her company and its mission.

“When we were providing meals, the meal recipients were giving us feedback. It wasn’t only around the taste of the food that they enjoyed. It was the way in which we donated it,” Tanney said. “It was making sure that when we were providing meals, we didn’t have signage that was offensive or made anybody feel less than (others).”

JD Meals employs nearly 100 team members, 95% of whom Tanney says represent the diverse communities the company serves.

“You can hear among the team that people say, cook as if you’re abuelitas or your grandmas are eating this food, because oftentimes they are,” Tanney said. “That is really the key to us celebrating our success … our team can so deeply relate to the communities that are enjoying our food.”

Head chef Alex Hernandez has worked at JD Meals since the company started up in 2020. He said working for JD Meals is unlike working for any restaurant — he never leaves the facility feeling frustrated, which stems back to Tanney’s kind demeanor.

“Jaclinn is a really nice person. She always (has) the best words to say to you,” Hernandez said. “She is never sad. She’s never upset. She treats everybody like a really, really nice sister. It’s really enjoyable to work with her.”

With two young kids at home, Tanney said it’s important to her that they see how serving your community while still achieving your career goals is possible.

Influencing non-profit organizations and other companies working to end hunger by producing and donating food with dignity is also an important long-term goal, she added.

“Food, especially food that tastes like home and is served respectfully, brings people a sense of comfort and belonging into the community,” Tanney said.

Having already provided over four million meals to those in need, JD Meals recently expanded its mission to Philadelphia this past fall.

Despite the upscaling, Tanney hopes to continue JD Meals’ mission of serving cultural, dignified and nutritious meals, not just through her own company, but vicariously through others working to achieve the same things.

Still, Tanney is at the forefront of it all.

“She’s dynamite, and she gets things done,” Coplin said. “It shows that she always wanted to do good.”

Published on April 15, 2026 at 10:12 pm