IT ALL STARTED BECAUSE OF FAMILY…
Our story began in 1979 when Elmer and Gina Whitcomb purchased a pair of restaurants in Garden City, New York. Their vision was to start a business that would bring their family of eleven together, one that embodied the importance of family, food, and service to others.
“Our biggest asset is our family,” – Elmer Whitcomb
OUR FAMILY HAS GROWN OVER THE YEARS…
What began as one man’s family dream has evolved into something greater than he could ever have imagined: an enterprise that brings communities together over shared meals and helps people in a very personal way.
From our humble restaurant beginnings to today’s leading single-source solution, our family has grown over the years. As a family-operated, minority-owned business, we are committed to embracing diversity as a core part of our culture. No longer just the original nine siblings, the Whitsons family has expanded to include innovative and entrepreneurial-minded team members who have become stewards of the original vision.
A BUSINESS IS BORN
When Elmer and Gina bought the Bon-Bon, what they envisoned was a small family business. What followed was a series of lessons that brought struggle to keep their dream alive.
OUT OF TRAGEDY, PURPOSE
Elmer 54, fighting cancer, turned to his family to forge the business. The Whitcomb children stepped up and turned to other areas of food services, including their first Corporate Dining account.
1981 First corporate dining account in New York.
1988 First Residential Services account in New York.
1988 First corporate headquarters is established in Huntington, NY.
WHITSONS GOES TO SCHOOL
Whitsons’ corporate tree grows and branches out to their first school account in New York, and then expands even further to Connecticut and Massachusetts, and to today with over 1200 schools in 13 states.
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A NEW DECADE, A NEW FOCUS
1990 The original restaurants are sold, allowing Whitsons to focus on non-commercial food service.
1993 First major Emergency Services response with the World Trade Center bombing.
1994 Whitsons Signature Series branded menu concepts are developed.
1995 Fabulous Foods Gourmet Catering launches.
9/11 A DEFINING MOMENT
As part of the World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery Effort, Whitsons partnered with The Salvation Army to serve millions of meals over a nine month period. Where other food management companies weren’t interested, the Whitsons team couldn’t volunteer fast enough and threw themselves into the center of the recovery effort. As a company it taught us that we were family, and as a community it restored hope for a new kind of future – one that we’d never take for granted again.
PREPARED MEALS
2002 Whitsons Bronx, New York Culinary Center opens
2003 Award-winning Nutrition Safari® elementary school education program launches.
2006 New Islandia, NY Headquarters and USDA-inspected culinary center is built.
2009 First Whitsons vehicle running on biodiesel fuel hits the road.
2009 Taskforce Green environmental conservation program launches.
2009 Greenleaf Cuisine local purchasing initiative instituted.
A NEW LEADER FOR WHITSONS
2011 Whitsons Family Foundation instituted to help team members in need.
2013 Whitsons becomes first foodservice provider to bring monthly local produce to all Massachusetts Schools Districts through the state Harvest of the Month program.
2015 Paul Whitcomb becomes President and CEO of Whitsons Culinary Group.
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
2015 Whitsons expands sustainable supplier sourcing initiatives to include the purchase of cage-free eggs in 100% of contract managed accounts.
2017 Whitsons becomes a U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champion.
2018 Whitsons publishes Green Report on environmental sustainability efforts.
2018 Whitsons School Nutrition launches the Meatless Monday Campaign at all school districts.
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Whitsons Culinary Group Celebrates 40 Years of Family Business Success
COMPANY GROWTH
2021 GenNx360 Capital Partners, a private equity firm, invests a majority partnership with Whitsons Culinary Group.
2022 Whitsons Transporation Dining elevates traveling with culinary excellence.
2022 Whitsons K-12 Pop-Up Shops win Food Management’s Best Concept Award.
EXPANSION ACQUISITIONS
Whitsons has grown from those small family restaurants to become the 15th largest food service management company and the fourth largest K-12 food service operator in the United States by 2022. Today, Whitsons is among the nations’ largest and most innovative food service companies.
FRESH VIBES
2023 Whitsons ranks 6th on the Protein Sustainability Scorecard published by the Humane Society of the United States.
2023 Real Meals by Whitsons® announces a fresh vide for K-12 Education Services.
2023 Whitsons partners with Baylor Collaborative on Hungry and Poverty to suport Hunger Outreach Program Empowerment Team.
OUR EXPANSION CONTINUES
2024 Whitsons expands to Illinois, Virgina, Wisconsin and Texas with a look to our future expansion.
TODAY OUR FAMILY CONTINUES TO INNOVATE IN EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, COMMUNITY AND SPECIALTY MARKETS
Enhancing Life One Meal at a Time™
The foundation of our success lies in the way our teams serve our customers by developing personal connections and making a difference in our communities that include educational dining, community meals, residential and healthcare clients, specialty markets, and emergency dining programs nationwide. And this is just the beginning of Whitsons’ story.
We are a family dedicated to making a meaningful impact on the world by Enhancing Life One Meal at a Time™
JOIN US ON OUR JOURNEY
Experience the essence of nourishing ingredients with Whitsons. Indulge in meals crafted with love, care, and a passion for wholesome living. Together, let’s embrace the simplicity of nature and the warmth of family, one meal at a time.