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With over 20 years of experience in the culinary and hospitality industries, Jeff Mills is an innovator and entrepreneur determined to find solutions that have a lasting social impact. While Mills’s grandmother in Ohio first introduced him to French and German cuisine through her cooking, his passion for hospitality began after he moved to Boston for college where he worked as a bartender to help pay for school. Mills’ style caught on and he was soon asked to bartend across the city. After completing his degree, he helped a few local restaurateurs and nightclub owners to establish new businesses. Ultimately, he decided to go out on his own.
This led him to New York City where he became a restaurateur, opening the Biltmore Room in Chelsea. At the time, Mills was the youngest restaurateur to ever receive a coveted three-star review from the New York Times. One too many 4pm to 4am shifts convinced the aspiring leader to sell his share of the restaurant to his primary investor. After taking a break to travel and recharge, he began consulting, which gave him the chance to turn his attention to school food in the District of Columbia.
Mills discovered his calling while at DC Public Schools, using his knowledge of fine dining and hospitality to prepare meals for more than 44,000 students across 123 schools, the majority of whom were economically disadvantaged.
He transformed the meal program from reheated, frozen prepared meals to meals that were delicious, healthy, and scratch-made. For his work, he received accolades from across the country. While at DC Public Schools, Mills became an official whistleblower after discovering that the vendor handling the school’s food service had been overcharging the District. For his efforts, he received of the largest settlements ever issued against a food service management company.
Genuine Foods: Leveraging the Power of Good Food
After the conclusion of the whistleblower suit, Jeff saw an opportunity to create a food service management company that had high-quality food and transparent and honest operations at its core. He established Genuine Foods with the goal of using the power of delicious food to enhance the lives and livelihoods of people and communities.
Genuine began by supplying meals to several New York City charter schools. The company quickly experienced exponential growth and today manages more than 80 accounts across 13 states. Genuine currently provides services to clients in higher education and the healthcare industry, in addition to K–12 public and private schools.
Genuine Foods has a strong track record for being nimble, adaptable, and able to personalize where it matters, including the types of food they source. Unlike other companies, Genuine’s menus are not influenced by back-end manufacturer rebates. Beyond simply serving local food, Genuine Foods goes above and beyond to create culturally competent menus that draw their inspiration from regional farmers, purveyors, cultures, trends, and voices. By providing Genuine moments—the experiences that make an impact beyond the plate—they work to put people and communities first.
Mills’s Take on Diversity and Inclusion at Genuine Foods
Our dedication to diversity and inclusion is centered on creating avenues for career advancement throughout the firm. The hospitality sector offers wonderful opportunities for growth, and we want to reward and promote individuals who come from the communities we work in, many of which are communities of color.
The Impact of the Pandemic on Genuine Foods
Since many schools and other public venues closed during the pandemic, several food service management companies and caterers folded or substantially reduced their services. “I’m pleased that during the pandemic, rather than contracting, we expanded and changed to better serve communities”, stated Mills. “We discovered more strategies to provide families and children across the nation with wholesome meals.” The team handled everything from curbside pickup to door-to-door delivery for its clientele. Additionally, they forged new partnerships, ultimately collaborating with Michelle Obama, Netflix, and the Partnership for a Healthier America on a nationwide social impact campaign. The effort provided more than 1 million meals through healthy, inspiring meal kits to families in cities across the country with the highest rates of childhood poverty. Now that the pandemic is retreating, Genuine is building new relationships with organizations like community colleges, helping them to draw students and faculty back to campus through enhanced offerings.
Overcoming Hurdles Along the Way
Like any rapidly expanding business, Genuine Foods has faced many obstacles along the way to success. How can the company continue to buy foods that are culturally relevant and locally grown while also pursing economies of scale that raise their ability to compete on price? How can they identify the best partners to enter new marketplaces and industry sectors? Each of these problems is being addressed by an all-hands effort from Genuine’s operations and business development teams. Genuine knows that finding the best partners, whether they be sourcing partners or clients, is crucial. You can find a solution to any problem if you find partners who share your values.
The Future of Genuine Foods: After a Decade
Genuine Foods is a prominent, nationally recognized, purpose-driven food service management company. The dynamic organization is working to fulfill its vision to provide healthy, high-quality, freshly prepared food to all communities. After ten years, Mills sees the company operating in many more settings and providing new, innovative ways to add value. Genuine Foods will maintain its entrepreneurial foundation while becoming more effective over time. ” I hope Genuine Foods is not just a fantastic partner to many, but also an even better place to work ten years from now. I hope that some of the faces working in cafeterias now will be leading the company in ten years’ time,” said Mills.
