POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. — Jessica Stembridge has always loved food. For as long as she can remember she dreamed of having her own business.
During the pandemic, her passion was realized when she became the owner of Dinnertime Delivered, a meal delivery service in Powder Springs, where Stembridge also resides.
“Let me just back up a little bit. I had been working on a meal planning program. Through doing that, I started a Facebook group. I’d interviewed all of these moms that were really struggling at dinner time, and help them with dinner without getting them completely stressed out,” she said. “When the pandemic began, I realized these moms didn’t just want a meal plan they really wanted someone to cook their meal for them. I started cooking for some of my neighbors and my friends and they idea just caught fire.”
Stembridge joined thousands of Americans who decided to take the entrepreneurial path during the pandemic. She’s revealed that she relished at the thought of having her own company even while working for another.
“I worked for a great company before. Loved my time there and my friends but I just felt this longing that I was meant for something more than that, and to use my gifts and my passions to help other people,” Stembridge said.
Back in May, Stembridge opened her first commercial kitchen located on the corner of Highway 278 and Florence Road. During an interview with 11Alive, she revealed a personal story that inspired her journey.
“So I actually had breast cancer a little over three years ago, and it was stage 3-C so it was pretty close to being stage 4. It was a real wake up call in terms of how I was living my life, and what I wanted to do with my life. I’ve been cancer free though. I finished my chemo and treatment, and what not. When you get on the other side of something like that. It really makes you evaluate the choices you make,” Stembridge said. “The pandemic kind of shook things up for people. Going through cancer shook things up for me. And I just finally got to the point where it became a feasible option to branch out and try this.”
Dinnertime Delivered features a menu of whole foods that Stembridge says has always been important to her.
“I’ve never been a calorie counter but I’ve always cared a lot about my ingredients. I eat some organic. I don’t eat exclusive organic. But I do avoid MSG, I do avoid high fructose corn syrup, avoid food colorings,” she said. “That’s the kind of food I feed my family, and that’s the kind of food I want to feed my customers.”
Some of the popular dishes are grilled chicken fajitas, Shepherd’s Pie, Chicken Cordon Bleu and her mac and cheese.
“We release a menu every Monday morning and that menu is open until Wednesday at 7, and that’s when our pre-orders cut off. Everything that gets ordered is delivered on Sunday. People can also come pick up from the store on Monday,” she said.
Stembridge said it brings her joy to cater to families with a good balance of healthy friendly food.
For information, visit Dinertime Delivered online.