Imagine the stress of just being discharged from the hospital–still feeling weak, vulnerable, and shaken by a serious diagnosis-only to be told that you now have to completely overhaul your diet.
That is a daunting task for many, but fortunately food expert Vanessa Sena and two colleagues from UConn Health have a solution.
They’ve started a business called MLC Nutrition, which provides delicious, healthy, chef-prepared meals for recently hospitalized patients, with the goal of optimizing their health and preventing rehospitalization.
They serve clients with serious medical conditions, including gestational or uncontrolled diabetes, kidney failure, heart disease, and chronic mental health problems. The patients are referred to MLC Nutrition by physicians and case managers.
“I told my colleagues last week that if I won the Powerball jackpot, I’d still keep doing this,” says Sena, the company CEO. “The impact we’re making, and the lives we’re changing, is incredible.”
Her partners in the venture are Helen Wu, Ph.D., associate professor in The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering and the Departments of Psychiatry and Public Health Sciences at UConn School of Medicine, and UConn medical student Lucia Duenas-Bianchi.
To date, MLC Nutrition has delivered 150,000 meals to Connecticut residents at their homes. The company partners with local chefs and facilities to prepare the food under the guidance of nutritionists, and includes offerings like mushroom and spinach lasagna, jerk shrimp and pineapple brown rice, Puerto Rican stewed beans and potatoes, and roasted poblano and corn chowder. The meal service is typically covered by health insurance.
Startup Competing for a Share of the Wolff Prizes
MLC Nutrition is one of five UConn-affiliated startups competing in the Wolff New Venture Competition in Hartford next month. Now in its 10th year, the event is hosted by UConn’s Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) and will award more than $115,000 in prize money, including $30,000 for the first-place finisher. Considered the School of Business’ pinnacle entrepreneurship challenge, the Oct. 23 event is open to the public to attend.
“When the Wolff New Venture Competition first launched, there was one $15,000 prize, thanks to the generosity of the Wolff family. Now, a decade later, we’ve expanded into 10 prizes, totaling more than $115,000, along with a startup showcase and keynote speaker,” says Alycia Chrosniak, Assistant Director of Brand and Venture Development at CCEI. “It’s been incredible to watch this competition grow into a cornerstone event for UConn’s entrepreneurial community.”
Starting Small, Figuring It Out as They Go
Sena, whose previously owned a culinary business and also has event-planning experience, became interested in home-based nutritional services when she worked as a consultant teaching hospital managers how good food can improve health conditions.
When she started exploring companies that offered at-home nutritional food services, she found none.
“I know hospitals, providers and payers all want this type of care,” she says. “I think that others have been discouraged because it is so hard to build it. It is tough to scale and takes a lot of resources. We’re starting small and figuring it out as we go.”
“We saw the gaps, not only in getting people to select the healthiest foods but we also recognize that there are places where there just isn’t easy access to good-quality, fresh food,” she says. “When a patient is in the hospital, they have their dietary needs met. But once they are discharged, there just wasn’t anything in place. We wanted to bridge that gap.”
MLC Nutrition just opened its first clinic at 602 New Britain Avenue in Hartford, which will offer access to physicians, dietitians and laboratory tests. It is the first stand-alone food-as-medicine clinic in the state, where doctors and case managers can send their patients to receive ongoing nutrition management and support and other services. The company has plans to expand into New York State, the mid-Atlantic and Washington, D.C.
Patient Satisfaction is at Core of the Company
CCEI selected Sena to participate in its Summer Fellowship Accelerator this year. The eight-week program provides intensive startup support through mentorship, workshops, pro bono services, and $15,000 in non-dilutive funding. Designed to help promising entrepreneurs grow their businesses, it also prepares them to avoid many of the pitfalls that challenge early-stage startups.
Although she had previously owned a small business in California, Sena says CCEI gave her a deeper exposure to business success.
“It was really great to work on the structure of the organization, our leadership and training model,” she says. “I gained a better understanding of setting up the business so that it can more easily scale and I learned how to deliver my message, and the importance of strong relationships with stakeholders.”
If MLC Nutrition wins the Wolff grand prize, Sena will hire a care manager/care coordinator for the company’s Connecticut operation.
To keep ahead of inflation, the company orders in bulk each month and purchases bags of produce through Levo International, a nonprofit started by UConn alumnus Christian Heiden, created to combat food insecurity and promote hydroponic farming.
But one thing that won’t change is Sena’s commitment to her clients.
“We start with the patients and make sure they are happy and satisfied,” Sena says. Patients can select from a variety of meals that change weekly, offering foods that appeal to different cultures, and from menus produced both in English and in Spanish. “I focus on foods that I would want to eat, and we keep high quality standards.”
The Wolff New Venture Competition will be held on Oct. 23 at The 1390 at Parkville Market in Hartford from 5 to 9 p.m. The event is free to attend and all are welcome. Pre-registration is required at https://luma.com/oi5L7nfo.
The Wolff New Venture Competition is supported by the generosity of the Wolff Family Fund for Strategic Entrepreneurship as well as wiggin(x), Fiondella, Milone & LaSaracino LLP, Sardilli Produce and Dairy Co., Prime Materials Recovery Inc., Baystate Financial, Webster Bank, Mark and Jamie Summers, Eric Marziali, Bob and Linda Delisle, Dick and Carol Stewart and Event Resources.
