MightyMeals CEO Recognized for AI-Driven Innovation, Rapid Growth, and Community Impact

MightyMeals today announced that Chef Stefano Marzano, CEO and Executive Chef of MightyMeals, has been named one of the Washington Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 honorees for 2026, recognizing the region’s most influential young leaders for their impact in business, innovation, and community advancement.

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Under Stefano Marzano's leadership, MightyMeals has expanded from a regional startup into a technology-forward organization known for delivering fresh, chef-prepared meals that help customers Choose Healthy. Live Mighty.

As the leader of MightyMeals, Marzano oversees the culinary vision and strategic direction of a fast-growing meal delivery company now serving 27 states, built entirely without outside investment. Under his leadership, MightyMeals has expanded from a regional startup into a technology-forward organization known for delivering fresh, chef-prepared meals that help customers Choose Healthy. Live Mighty.

Marzano has also become a standout voice in the evolving food-tech space through his “AI for Good” approach: using artificial intelligence to improve internal systems, optimize forecasting, enhance menu decision-making, and reduce waste. These innovations have strengthened operational efficiency and helped scale the company responsibly, while continuing to create jobs and elevate product quality rather than cutting corners.

“Being recognized by the Washington Business Journal is a huge honor,” said Marzano. “This award reflects the work of an entire team that believes innovation should make healthy food more accessible, and that growth should expand our ability to give back.”

AI for Good: Innovation That Builds Opportunity

Marzano’s leadership has helped integrate AI-driven process improvements across the organization, including systems designed to streamline production, improve customer experience, and reduce environmental impact. This has enabled MightyMeals to grow rapidly while maintaining its reputation for quality and consistency, proving that technology can be a force for both operational excellence and human-centered growth.

Community Impact Beyond the Plate

Marzano has also made community engagement a core part of MightyMeals’ identity. Through the company’s MightyMovement initiatives, MightyMeals donates meals weekly to local organizations. In addition, MightyMeals recently launched a major partnership with Children’s National Hospital aimed at combating childhood food insecurity. Beginning December 2025, MightyMeals will donate 10,000 meals over the next 10 months to families served through Children’s National’s community sites, providing a minimum of 200 meals per week to ensure consistent support.

The partnership holds deep personal significance for Marzano, who received care at Children’s National for the first 18 years of his life after being born blind.

“Children’s National played a transformational role in my life,” Marzano shared previously. “We’re honored to support families who are facing challenges of their own and to give back to the hospital that helped me become who I am today.”

Children’s National has emphasized that its community sites bring critical resources directly into neighborhoods where families may face food insecurity, transportation barriers, and limited access to nutritious foods, and that partnerships like MightyMeals help “wrap care around families,” addressing social needs alongside medical care.

Purpose-Driven Growth

Over the past decade, MightyMeals has expanded its reach significantly while strengthening its mission-driven foundation. Marzano’s leadership philosophy remains consistent: innovation should feed people, not replace them, and every improvement in efficiency should fuel greater opportunity, better health outcomes, and expanded community support.

About MightyMeals

Founded in 2015 in the D.C. metro area, MightyMeals delivers fresh, chef-prepared, nutritious meals to customers’ doors, now serving 27 states. Guided by the mission Choose Healthy. Live Mighty., MightyMeals is driven by culinary excellence, sustainability, innovation, and community impact.

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“Being recognized by the Washington Business Journal is a huge honor. This award reflects the work of an entire team that believes innovation should make healthy food more accessible, and that growth should expand our ability to give back.”