Jennifer has been a longtime resident of Shenandoah County and a dog lover for even longer. She fell in love with St. Bernards as a kid and has owned at least one since then. In addition to being wonderful companions, Jennifer’s dogs boast a stellar reputation in the dog showing scene.

Over her many years of experience with the breed, Jennifer started to notice the lifespan of her dogs decreasing. Over the last 15 years, their lifespan went from averaging eight to 10 years to less. She started looking for ways to extend their lives when she lost two dogs within the span of a year to cancer.

Jennifer soon began experimenting with the creation of her own dog food, going to the grocery store, and gathering up all the fresh, healthy ingredients she could find. After making the switch to her homemade dog food, she noticed that her dogs seemed healthier and lived longer. Word began to spread and soon Jennifer started receiving calls from friends asking if she could make their pets’ food.

What started as a passion project for her pets began to transform into a sustainable business for Jennifer and her family. In 2016, Jennifer established Chew Dat Foods. As her customer base began growing, Jennifer started researching small business loans to help purchase needed equipment for expansion, like freezers and food grinders.

That’s when Jennifer realized People Incorporated would be the perfect fit for her to secure her loan. She was surprised by the ease of the application process for her first loan and has since secured three loans from the agency totaling $27,000. Jennifer was also able to take advantage of People Incorporated’s small business classes, which taught her skills in website building and online marketing.

With the help of the People Incorporated small business loans, Jennifer now has the equipment to produce over 2,500 pounds of dog and cat food per week! Jennifer is proud of her ability to give back to the local economy through her business – she sources her raw ingredients locally and employs a full-time staff member and part-time employee to help with deliveries.

“I couldn’t have done it without People Incorporated’s help,” said Jennifer.

Jennifer is also committed to reducing waste through her business. She has started packaging her frozen food in buckets that can be delivered to her customers and then returned, sanitized, and reused.

Through it all, Jennifer has leaned on her husband, Steve, who she calls her “greatest supporter.” Together, they have big dreams for the future of Chew Dat Foods. When the time is right, she would like to expand her manufacturing facility and is looking into franchising the business. Chew Dat Foods has come a long way since 2016, but the future is looking even brighter.