For David Lewis Jr., Fritz Georges and Jarrette Atkins, selling drugs was a way to survive in an impoverished community. After spending their early ‘20s in prison, they created MacroBites, the first Black-owned meal preparatory service company in America, completely transforming their lives.
“After my final stint of three ½ years incarcerated, I got into the restaurant industry, I started at the bottom as, a dishwasher to being a general manager at a restaurant. During this time, I developed a passion for fitness and earned by NASM certificate for Personal Training,” explains Lewis Jr., President MacroBites.
Following his release from a 3-and-a-half-year incarceration in 2013, Lewis worked his way up in the restaurant industry, from dishwashing at a country club to general managing a fast-casual restaurant before creating MacroBites.
MacroBites is expanding exponentially with a restaurant based in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and a meal plan service for those looking for a carefully curated nutritionally dense diet along with a growing circle of investors.
“As I grew older, I started to develop a passion for health and fitness with a focus on nutrition. Combining my experience with my passion is how MacroBites was born,” says Atkins, Executive Chef and CEO.
Atkins began his culinary learning at a young age, entering the workforce at 14 years old. He worked in the kitchen at a retirement home doing general cleaning, washing dishes, and picking up on the resident chefs’ techniques and talents. After high school, he continued his culinary training and workforce experience at a variety of different restaurants, including fast casual, casual dine-in, full service, and fine dining restaurants. As an adult, Atkins developed a passion for health and fitness which places a large emphasis on nutrition.
Georges got his life back on track by working in the construction industry, working his way up from a laborer to a site foreman.
MacroBites’s mission is that for every meal that is shipped nationally, it helps feed someone in the community for free through Foundation for The Culture. The foundation was created for a necessary purpose: to provide healthy food to underserved communities. Working in tandem with MacroBites, the foundation has distributed over 61,000 high-quality, nutritious meals free of charge to the Asbury Park, NJ community since 2021.
“We strategically strive to ensure that as we succeed as a business the entire community succeeds as well,” Lewis says. “With our business growing in recognition and popularity, all three of us hope our story inspires others to avoid incarceration and overcome their past.”
“MacroBites,” he concludes, “is truly an inspiring comeback story that is providing healthy meals to the masses while feeding the less fortunate. Realizing the error in our early choices and hungry to develop ourselves personally, we all worked together to get our lives back. Never wanting to forget where we come from, and aware of the example we are setting for our children, we got focused and we’ve made it through to the other side.”
