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– W O M E N I N B U S I N E S S –
A D V E R T O R I A L
So, whether you eat or drink or whatever
you do, do it all for the glory of God.
–1 Corinthians, 10:31
Teresa Sones didn’t set out to be a caterer.
She didn’t dream of having a store that sells
baked goods and casseroles. Teresa went to
college to become a nurse. And she was a
nurse, for ten years. But after having four
children, it was not cost-effective for her to
work anymore. Her husband, Jeff, was
working fulltime in the National Guard, so
Teresa went home and began homeschooling
her children.
Born in Louisiana, Teresa’s family moved to
Jackson when she was young, and she grew up
in the Belhaven area of Jackson. After
graduating from nursing school at Hinds
Community College, she went to work in her
chosen profession.
She and Jeff lived in Tupelo for eight years,
and while she was there, their pastor, Tim
Fortner, shared his recipe for sourdough bread
with Teresa. “He taught me how to make it
and I began giving it as gifts.” People asked if
they could buy her bread. The couple moved
to Flora in 2008, and many of Teresa’s
working mom friends took notice of the
delicious meals she was preparing for her
family. Her friends said they wished she could
cook for them. That gave Teresa an idea.
There was a small building behind her
house, and Teresa called the health department,
and they came out and told her what
kind of equipment she would need to have a
commercial kitchen. Soon she was taking
orders for meals and bread and delivering to
busy moms-on-the-go. Teresa was still on the
fence about having a business, but she knew
she wanted to do something to contribute to
their household income. “Our paster, Hunter
Brewer, told me that I needed to do something
so big that if God’s not in it, it won’t
work; and if He is in it, you can’t stop it. That
stuck with me, and I moved forward. I was
inspired by the Bible verse from first Corinthians
that says, ‘So, whether you eat or drink
or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of
God.’ It’s one of the verses we studied a lot at
the church we went to in Tupelo. I decided to
name my business Bless This Food Catering.”
The more she got into the business, the
more she realized that feeding people is what
drives her. “I like to bless people with food!”
Because she had struggled with her weight for
so long, she began to think about her own
relationship with food differently. “I feed my
body for the glory of God. I like to think I’m
feeding others for the same reason.”
The business began to grow organically. “I
sure didn’t have a business plan,” laughs
Teresa. People found out about her business
via word of mouth, and soon she was getting
orders for corporate lunches and even
weddings. They began to do more made-toorder
items, in addition to the baked goods
that Teresa makes each day. Two years ago,
Teresa signed a lease on a building and moved
her operation to Flora. Daughter Sarah
stepped in and built a website as well as the
new store. “She handled all the construction
details,” says Teresa. “Sarah has big ideas, and
she is so creative.” Daughter Rebekah now
takes care of the business end, keeping the
books, taking orders and planning wedding
reception catering. The business continues to
grow, with a new lease recently signed for a
second storefront in Pearl.
At the Flora location, meals for catering
lunches are prepared and bread is baked daily.
“My day starts at 4am, when I start making
the bread,” Teresa says. “I go to the gym at 5,
which is what keeps me moving, then back to
the store at 6 to finish the bread and make
cinnamon rolls, regular rolls and cakes. Some
days I’m done by midday, other days it may be
later.” Teresa says that ninety percent of their
catering business is for pharmaceutical
lunches. “I know all the doctors in town and
their food preferences,” laughs Teresa. “I know
what they like and don’t like, and we make the
lunches accordingly. We also do a lot of
Wednesday night suppers for churches.” The
business does a couple of weddings each
month. “We do smaller weddings, with 100
people or less, but that is picking up.” While
they don’t make wedding cakes, Teresa says
they do set things up, serve, and break it down
afterwards.
The Flora location also offers ready-made
meals, both frozen and refrigerated, as well as
baked goods. “Our most popular dishes are
the poppy seed chicken and chicken spaghetti,”
says Teresa. “We separate them by size,
from small (feeds two to three), to medium
(feeds four to six) to large (feeds ten).” The
refrigerator is filled with chicken salad and
homemade pimiento cheese, along with
individual healthy meals. “We have several
families that order weekly. During Covid,
business went crazy. We did a lot of curbside
pickup and home deliveries.”
When she’s not working, Teresa says she
enjoys traveling. “We try to go to a major
league baseball game every year. This past July
we flew to Denver to attend the All-Star
game.” The boys now play football at
Tri-County Academy, so the Sones are in the
stands for the Friday night lights. They are
also members of Madison Heights Church.
Bless This Food is located at 740 Highway 49, Suite I, in Flora,
in the Cotton Exchange Plaza. More information can be at
www.blessthisfoodcatering.com.
Hometown MADISON • 93