Our Story
It’s personal for us! Here at Mission Nutrition, we care deeply about the vital work school foodservice people do every day across the country. We’ve been supporters of theirs for over 30 years and strive to make products that will help promote and serve school meals along with educating students on good nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle.
Mission Nutrition was inspired by JoEllen Miner, a food service director at a small school district in a suburb of Minneapolis. She wanted to add fun and positivity to school meals and wondered how to get the students excited to participate. One day, she had the idea of giving a Mello SmelloTM scented sticker to each student that purchased a school lunch to increase participation. It was a hit with the kids and an idea was born!
JoEllen’s husband, Doug, worked with his brother Jon Miner at Mello Smello, the home of the original 80’s scratch and smell stickers. Together, they collaborated to make educational and fun promotional items available to more schools across the country. The idea spread like wildfire and soon after, Mission Nutrition was born. It first started with stickers and other fun promotional items but has since expanded to include our famous Super Sack™ Paper Bags and Super Stack™ Meal Boxes.
Over the years, we have worked with some of the largest school districts in the country. In fact, when New York City Schools wanted to launch their new breakfast program, they turned to us to help get the word out. We partnered with Micky Mouse and the rest of the Disney characters to help promote their new program.
The Mission Nutrition Family has grown over time as has the Miner family. Jon’s son, Mark, joined the company after college, where he met his wife Kim. They worked together in the industry, traveling to many state and national shows to help promote school foodservice and nutrition education. Now, with the help from their son Matt, Mark and Kim continue to support our foodservice heroes. Three generations later, we are still devoted to the industry that is feeding America’s future! We strive every day to delight our customers and want to make sure they feel like a part of the Mission Nutrition Family too.
We miss JoEllen but know she left her mark on the foodservice industry and school children nation-wide. JoEllen was an accomplished school foodservice professional who went on to become the Minnesota State President and a Major City Director. She was involved at the highest level of SNA, using other foodservice directors’ input to help us develop products that bring smiles to student’s faces.
Our Mission is Making People Smile! 