Two years ago, husband and wife team Jason Weedon and Danielle Hrzic investigated their son’s lunch menu at his private preschool in the South Loop and were disappointed with what they saw. They wanted something better, and decided to intervene.

“We thought, why don’t we just come up with a menu and approach the school to see if they will use us as a lunch provider?” said Weedon.

The school agreed and Weedon and Hrzic ended up serving lunch to more than 100 children that year, giving them the ability to experiment and design a healthy, kid-friendly menu. Gourmet Gorilla was born.

“We took over the whole food program. We brought in a chef. We collaborated on the menu,” said Hrzic.

Gourmet Gorilla’s meals consist of natural and organic ingredients. No high fructose corn syrup is used and all the meats and dairy products are hormone-free. There’s a daily vegetarian option as well.

By the end of 2009 Gourmet Gorilla had grown by 1,200 percent and was producing around 1,000 meals a day. The company now hopes to grow its annual revenues to $4 million over the next two years.

The company is well on its way to that goal, following the January acquisition of Green Bag Lunch LLC, which specializes in organic, healthy, cold lunches. With Green Bag Lunch in the fold, Gourmet Gorilla’s school contracts have more than doubled to 60 from 25.

The schools account for just half the company’s revenues. The other 50 percent of revenues comes from parents who have individually signed their children up to receive Gourmet Gorilla lunches, breakfast or snacks at their public or private schools. That means parents can order meals like all-natural turkey panini or veggie pizza.

Another Chicago company, Organic Life, has found success with a similar model. The business started four years ago and now serves 30,000 meals a week, or 6,000 meals per day, to schools in the Chicagoland area. According to chief operating officer and co-founder Joanas Falk, the company has grown tenfold every year since it started and employs 50 people.

Falk knew they needed to provide food that kids wanted to eat in order to be successful. Among the offerings — cilantro-lime braised free-range chicken instead of fried chicken fingers. But more familiar kid-friendly foods are also on the menu.


“If we’re going to make a difference we need to serve food that the kids like,” he said, like healthy version of mac and cheese, pizza and hot dogs.

Both companies try to source as much of their food from Chicago-area farms and companies as possible.

“Not only are we benefiting children’s health, but we are also benefiting the local economy and the environment,” Weedon said. He said the company has hired 17 employees within the last year and plans to hire more people as the company grows.

Organic food, on average, costs 20 percent more than conventional food. Organic meat can be three times as expensive as non-organic. In the winter, transportation costs can also be high since the companies need to ship in organic produce.

But, said Organic Life’s Falk, “The cost of conventional food has also risen, so the disparity has lessened” between organic and non-organic foods.

Hrzic said the cost of Gourmet Gorilla’s service varies depending on the type of lunch provided, but it typically is in the range of $3.00 to $6.00 per hot lunch. The cold, bagged lunches are more affordable, at $2.00 to $3.00. But both options are still more expensive than the typical public school lunch, which can be less than $1.00 a meal.

For some children, paying the extra cost to switch to a healthier lunch program is not an option, especially since a majority of the Chicago Public School System’s students are on the reduced-price lunch program, which gives students a meal for free or as cheap as 40 cents.

For private schools and preschools, it’s an entirely different matter. There often is not a price difference to make the switch from their current catering service to an organic service.

“We are very comparable to any non-organic food service,” said Falk.

Jennifer Hanna, director of Chicago Montessori, said that switching to Gourmet Gorilla was a no-brainer since it cost the same as its previous catering service.

“Gourmet Gorilla’s menu looked way better,” Hanna said. “The food was beyond comparison and it was organic, local and just represented a higher quality of life and a higher commitment to good food.”

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By Solo from Motor Row
Posted: 03/12/2010 2:59 PM

Jason / Danielle -- Any thoughts to opening a Store Front - Breakfast/Lunch place in the South Loop? There are hundreds of conventioners that go to McCormick Place and end up at either the Burger King or Brandi's Pizzeria. The only competition will be HIGH-END restaurants that are planned on S. Michigan Ave and no lunch, etc.. option.