Jenna Arcidiacono

Founder & Owner, Food Hugs, Amore Trattoria Italiana
Champion of Service

Jenna Arcidiacono’s love language is serving others through food. Her first job was slinging chili dogs and root beer floats at Cook’s Drive-In. Slowly, she realized cooking was more than a way to pay for her stirrup pants, music cassettes and perms.

After high school, she attended MSU and worked in restaurants near campus, and moved to San Francisco and fell in love with a handsome Italian visiting from Milan. Together, they moved to Italy, where Arcidiacono spent three years in the kitchen with her mother-in-law, growing her passion for Italian cuisine. Once back to the U.S., Arcidiacono opened Amore Trattoria Italiana, where meeting her guests in the dining room became part of the experience and her connection to the community. During the COVID pandemic, Arcidiacono started Food Hugs, which fed frontline workers. She continues to give and serve the community in creative ways. If you see a sparkly pink SUV with a “FOOD HUG” license plate, that’s her.

Arcidiacono says, “In serving others I meet so many amazing people and have the opportunity to hear their stories and make a difference in their lives. Everyone is going through something—if I can be the smile for them, I want to be that.”