Our Story

J&M Food Products Company grew from a simple belief: people should not have to compromise their religious dietary needs when dependable food matters most. Founder Mary Anne Jackson founded My Own Meals, Inc. in 1986 creating the children’s meals market segment, and then in the early 1990s, expanded the company’s attention to Kosher and Halal meals. In 1995, she founded J&M Food Products Company to focus specifically on Dhabiha Halal certified meals.

At the time, Halal-certified prepared meals were difficult to find, particularly for military and institutional use. Most options, where available mainly included scarce imports. J&M recognized that removing pork from a recipe was not enough and production required independent oversight for reliability. Halal integrity had to extend across meat slaughter controls, ingredients, processing and production practices behind the finished meal.

From the beginning, J&M Food Products Company approached Halal certification as part of the entire production process, not simply a symbol added to a package. That work led to a longstanding relationship with the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA), bringing together knowledge of Islamic dietary requirements with the realities of commercial food manufacturing.

In 1997, Mary Anne Jackson joined IFANCA experts and food scientists in co-authoring, publishing and copyright protecting, the first Halal Industrial Production Standards manual. The publication documented practical standards for Halal food production, listing key ingredients and establishing the role of trained, in-plant inspection and supervisors. That history continues to shape J&M’s approach today, with Halal certification extending to the ingredients and production practices used in our meals.

J&M Food Products Company helped bring Halal-certified meals into places where reliable options had not yet existed. In the early 1990s, J&M created, field-tested and introduced the first Halal military ration (referred to as Meals, Ready to Eat or MREs) into the U.S. military ration system which included lamb, beef and chicken meals made with Dhabiha Halal meat. With all food components of its new commercial Halal MRE sourced from the US Commercial Industrial Base instead of the traditional Military Industrial Base’s components of Military Specified items, this uniqueness gained a lot of attention, and eventual respect of the industry and military. The Company could rapidly surge in times of high demand required for training, field exercises or other needs. Just as seamlessly, its operations slowed as demand diminished.

The Company went on to successfully supply and delivery its Halal MREs for more than two decades under U.S. defense contracts, while also supporting U.S. military and government needs through special orders. J&M also supported the Netherlands Air Force, and for the past 20 years, the Canadian military.

Mary Anne Jackson also served for eight years as a board member and later Chairman of the Board (2002-03) of Research & Development Associates for Military Food & Packaging Systems (R&DA), an organization connecting military and food-industry leaders. Her work and the Company’s support of U.S. military operations were recognized by the Department of the Army with a medal and Certificate of Appreciation for Patriotic Civilian Service in 2002, and in 2003 by the Commander of the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (now Defense Logistics Agency) for My Own Meals, Inc. support in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The need for dependable Halal food extends far beyond the military. Over the years, J&M meals have supported government agencies, international partners and disaster relief efforts where refrigeration, cooking facilities or access to appropriate food may be limited.

J&M meals have responded to humanitarian and disaster situations around the world, including relief efforts for displaced people in Lebanon, Pakistan and Northern Iraq, as well as communities affected by major U.S. hurricanes. Shelf stable packaging and fully cooked meals make it possible to provide Halal-certified food in environments with limited freshwater access and where traditional food preparation may not be practical.

Today, J&M Food Products Company continues to provide fully cooked, shelf stable Halal and Dhabiha Halal certified meals to institutions and individuals with specific dietary needs. Our customers span foodservice customers and distributors, correctional and healthcare institutions, universities, emergency preparedness and humanitarian organizations, militaries and government agencies.

The same qualities that make a shelf stable meal useful in a field operation or institutional setting also make it practical for travel, outdoor activities, emergency supplies and everyday life. Wherever our meals are enjoyed, the purpose remains the same: to provide delicious, dependable Halal certified food so that consumers do not need to compromise their dietary requirements just to eat.

J&M Food Products Company is the Halal division of My Own Meals, Inc., a privately-owned company with roots dating back to 1986. Together, our brands provide shelf-stable meals for a range of religious and dietary needs. J&M focuses on Halal and Dhabiha Halal-certified meat meals, while qualifying vegetarian My Own Meals are independently certified both Kosher and Halal.

Across our family of brands, we remain committed to using only quality ingredients with trusted certifications and to deliver fully cooked meals designed to be ready whenever and wherever they are needed.