NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — They are artful, meditative and delicious. They look like they belong in a museum. They're a worldwide hit on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. And they are eaten every day by a kid at school.
"I do this out of love," said the mom behind Lunchboxmafia, an online sensation turning school lunchboxes into soothing works of art.
Think charcuterie for kids. New Port Richey's Jenny, who works a day gig for a department store, started this uniquely aesthetic movement a few years ago.
A since-disbanded online mom group she was in coined the phrase "Lunchboxmafia." Jenny has now turned it into a budding franchise, appearing in magazines, on TV, and all over the Internet.
Though beautiful, her lunches are fast, affordable and made with love.
"Lunch is the only meal [my family] doesn't have together," Jenny said. "So it makes me feel good to do something nice for [my daughter]."
Jenny might not admit it, but she's definitely an artist.
Using mostly leftovers and durable lunchboxes with tiny compartments, she creates carefully and colorfully arranged lunches that often have a theme (Halloween with hot-pocket skulls; Opening Day with hotdogs and fruit-chewy baseball bats).
"You pull colors from the rainbow," she said to explain her palette. "Red strawberries, blueberries, yellow peppers. This is definitely a creative outlet for me."
As for her daughter, she likes her mom's creations.
"But she also likes the lunches at school," Jenny said with a shrug of her shoulders.
For more on Lunchboxmafia, click here.
