{"id":74238,"date":"2025-12-31T00:26:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T00:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/74238\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T00:26:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T00:26:05","slug":"jennifer-powell-michael-kenny-of-jams-delights-why-nepa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/74238\/","title":{"rendered":"Jennifer Powell & Michael Kenny of JaM\u2019s Delights – Why NEPA?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jennifer Powell grew up in Montclair, New Jersey, and describes herself as an introvert who found confidence through running. After following her brother into cross country, she became a standout track athlete, earning a scholarship to the University of Alabama before relocating to Scranton<\/a> in 2006. She later earned a degree in sport and recreation management from Keystone College<\/a> and is now raising her two children, Zuri, 13, and Hassani, 9, as a single mom.<\/p>\n

Mike Kenny was born and raised in Dunmore and graduated from Scranton Prep. He earned his undergraduate degree from Marywood University<\/a> before attending law school at The Catholic University of America. His career took him around the world, studying in places like Geneva and Hong Kong, before bringing him back home to practice civil litigation. Today, he\u2019s raising three daughters\u2014Veronica, 20, Rachel, 18, and Lily, 12\u2014on his own.<\/p>\n

Jennifer and Mike met in 2022 through their children, Zuri and Lily, who were best friends. The idea for JaM\u2019s Delights<\/a> came from a moment that hit close to home: Jen\u2019s son has multiple food allergies, and after being unable to enjoy a treat at a birthday party, she wanted to create something inclusive. Together, they began making cookies free from dairy, egg, soy, dyes, nuts and gluten\u2014so no one has to feel left out, just as their tagline promises.<\/p>\n

Today, JaM\u2019s Delights operates out of the Gather Community Space<\/a> in Wilkes-Barre<\/a> and can be found at Electric City Roasting<\/a>, The Retro Cafe Scranton<\/a>, Black Watch Caf\u00e9<\/a> and Abide Coffeehouse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We met Jennifer and Mike at Retro Cafe in Scranton to learn more about their story and sample the cookies bringing inclusive treats to NEPA. And we had to know, Why NEPA?<\/p>\n

How long have you lived in NEPA?<\/p>\n

Jen: Since 2006<\/p>\n

Mike: 1966<\/p>\n

What do you love about your town?<\/p>\n

Jen: Scranton is my home. It took a long time for me to accept that, just because it really was a huge cultural difference for me. A few years ago, I was doing a podcast and some intuitive work, and I was explaining the cultural differences. She (Janene, the host) said, \u2018But there are so many things out here for you to explore now.\u2019 And I understand\u2014you\u2019re coming from a different place, maybe a different racial background or demographics. It\u2019s completely different. In that moment, she really opened my eyes. I realized that I create my community. If I want to see change, if I want to be a part of it, I have to actually be in it.<\/p>\n

Now, I do feel like I have a community and that I\u2019m a part of it. I\u2019m not just taking from it\u2014I\u2019m actually contributing to it. So yeah, I would definitely say this is my home.<\/p>\n

Mike: The people. I always tell everybody that. The people in this area are incredibly helpful. If you need something, there\u2019s always somebody who\u2019s willing to help you. And if they can\u2019t, they know somebody who can.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favorite NEPA restaurant?<\/p>\n

Mike: I\u2019m going to go with La Cucina<\/a> in Dunmore. I worked there when I was 12 or 13 with Bobby Ruddy when the restaurant was up behind St. Mary\u2019s on Chestnut Street. We were dishwashers, and at the end of the night, Paolo Lepri would always give us a free meal. You couldn\u2019t get the filet mignon or the lobster, but they\u2019d cook you anything you wanted.<\/p>\n

The food was off the charts then, and it still. It\u2019s a great family, great food, and they\u2019ve been doing it for a long time. If you go, tell them Mike Kenny sent you.<\/p>\n

Jen: I\u2019m going to shout out Retro<\/a>\u2014they have beautiful, delicious soup. When I go out, I tend to eat pescatarian, fish, or vegan, so I\u2019m still exploring restaurants. Caf\u00e9 Classico<\/a>\u00a0on Mulberry Street also has delicious Italian food. It\u2019s not gluten-free, but it\u2019s delicious.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favorite thing to do in NEPA?<\/p>\n

Jen: I love, love, love exploring the rivers and the scenery. There\u2019s this little man-made beach\u2014Sweeney\u2019s Beach<\/a>\u2014that I used to go to meditate and reset. Anywhere you can find rivers and paths, that\u2019s what I love about Northeast PA. The scenery is just so beautiful.<\/p>\n

Mike: I love Nay Aug Park<\/a>. I just moved to that area, about a block away, so I\u2019d have to say walking around Nay Aug.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for you?<\/p>\n

Jen: I have my hand in a few things. I\u2019m an employee, and I also host \u2018I Love Myself\u2019 workshops in the community which are centered on bringing it back to you and learning how to love yourself in different ways. I\u2019m also creating journals to support that, along with the cookies, and being a mom full time. I hope what\u2019s next is just me continuing to pour out positivity, no matter what that looks like.<\/p>\n

Mike: Mainly, I\u2019ve been focused on my kids for the last 10 years. Everything I do is to keep things going for me mentally, but also to help them in the long term. Whatever it is, it\u2019s for them. Veronica is at Marywood, Rachel is heading to college\u2014she just got accepted to Duquesne\u2014and Lily is turning 13, so I still have a ways to go. Who knows what\u2019s next? I\u2019m always open to new adventures.<\/p>\n

Where do you see NEPA heading in the future?<\/p>\n

Jen: With all the diversity coming into the city, my hope and aspiration\u2014first of all\u2014is that I love it. When I first came here, I didn\u2019t see many people who looked like me, and that was uncomfortable for a while. I grew up in Montclair, in a very diverse community, so it was an adjustment.<\/p>\n

I understand that change can be uncomfortable for a lot of people\u2014seeing different faces and cultures\u2014but it can also be a great opportunity to create unity while accepting individuality. It\u2019s like our cookies: people have different allergies, different needs, or just want something healthier. Being your individual self and bringing that into your community can help transform it into a beautiful place.<\/p>\n

Mike: I honestly see us being even better than we are now. I say that because this area is great. When you\u2019re a kid, it might not feel that way\u2014my kids sometimes say there\u2019s nothing to do or that we\u2019re behind the times\u2014but I actually think that\u2019s a good thing. This area moves slow and steady, nice and methodical. Everyone else can rush ahead and screw things up, and it never quite gets here. We take our time. And the people here are always willing to come together and help each other. No matter what happens, people are always there for one another.<\/p>\n

Why NEPA?<\/p>\n

Jen: I think it\u2019s a combination of what Mike just said. Compared to what\u2019s going on in other states, it feels like a safe place to raise children. It\u2019s slower, and I\u2019m more of an introvert, so I don\u2019t like city life\u2014I\u2019m not a city girl. It\u2019s a great opportunity for me to create and grow.<\/p>\n

Mike: I was born and raised here, and I\u2019ve been all over. You really can\u2019t beat this place. It\u2019s great for kids and for raising a family. I want my girls to go out, get some experience, see what things are like\u2014and then come back someday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jennifer Powell grew up in Montclair, New Jersey, and describes herself as an introvert who found confidence through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-74238","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-scranton","9":"tag-scranton-headlines","10":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}