Alexandria's Mom Made Foods Closes Amid Pandemic Challenges

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Mom Made Foods, an Alexandria-based company providing children's frozen meals and snacks in stores and online, announced its closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Founder Heather Stouffer and her team made the announcement on Facebook, citing the pandemic's "unimaginable strain on small businesses across the country."

Mom Made Foods dates back to 2006, when it started selling children's frozen meals at the Del Ray Farmers Market. The company since expanded to offer products nationwide.

Products are geared toward foods children loved, but with a healthier twist. Mom Made Foods had debuted its latest product line, Lunchwich, in March 2020 as the pandemic started shutting down places such as schools.

"We were over-the-moon excited for the first production run scheduled for the end of March 2020," said Stouffer in the Facebook post. "But it was impossible to predict that Mom Made’s newest product, designed for children to bring as a school lunch, would launch at the very moment kids across the country stopped going to school."

The pandemic also impacted the company's supply chain, created logistical challenges, and changed the habits of grocery shoppers. Stouffer believes pandemic-related challenges will continue in much of 2021.

Stouffer thanked customers for support over the years.

"It's been quite the journey from launching at a local farmers market to seeing Mom Made products in some of the largest national retailers," Stouffer wrote. "We are eternally grateful for your loyalty to Mom Made, for allowing us into your homes to be a part of your family’s menu."