48 | AUGUST 11 • 2022

NOSH
EATS | DRINKS | SWEETS

I

nside her neat Oak Park home, Shirah Fish is layering let-
tuce, sliced avocado, broiled chicken and quinoa in the 20+
plastic containers spread along the kitchen counter. Soon
customers will be picking up their lunches, and she’ll deliver
the rest in the Oak Park/Southfield/Huntington Woods area.
“People forget to take care of themselves. Moms are busy
with their kids all day and lunch is the first thing they forget,”
Shirah said. “Then there are people who work through lunch,
especially if they’re working remotely.”
She’s pleased to help with that. “I prepare a healthy lunch
for them. A healthy meal can keep them going, can prevent
that sluggish feeling and gives them a good boost of energy.”
Shirah keeps strictly kosher, although her enterprise is not
under rabbinical supervision. She has always loved cooking,
but the busy mom of six with a degree in behavioral psycholo-
gy never thought it would be something she would do profes-
sionally. This job started by accident. In February, her friend
Aliza Ancier shared her struggles finding drop-in childcare.
“You probably won’t find it,” Shirah told her. “I never found
any either. What worked for me was to figure out the things
I wanted to get done while my babies were in daycare and
then pay someone to do those things.”
Aliza shared she was too swamped to cook and wasn’t eat-
ing healthy lunches.
“You could totally pay someone to make you lunch,” Shirah

told her. “Anyone would do that. I would.”
“Really?” Aliza asked eagerly. “Can you start Monday?”
Shirah was taken aback. She hadn’t meant it like that … But
after thinking about it, she figured she might as well try. It
would probably be good for her, too!
That’s when Aliza mentioned she was gluten-free.
Intimidated, Shirah reached out to her friend Samm
Wunderlich for recipe ideas.
After offering some suggestions, Samm said, “If you’re
already making lunches for Aliza, can you make some for me,
too? I’m gluten-free and vegan.”
As Shirah prepared lunches for Aliza and Samm, she took
pictures of the food and shared with her friends. Soon she
was getting more requests. Things quickly snowballed and
the week before Pesach, Shirah’s newly named “The Lunch
Box” was preparing almost 10 lunches every day.
As word spread, her happy customer branch grew and now
Shirah is preparing about 100 lunches every week.
She also began preparing a Shabbat menu, which includes
different kugels, gefilte fish, baba ghanoush and other dips,
chicken soup and desserts. She recently even catered a bridal
shower and has prepared platters for office lunches.
“I tell my customers, whatever they’re interested in, just ask.
If I can do it, I’m happy to help,” Shirah said. She began selling
customized protein shakes after a customer requested it and

A new option for people on special diets.

Filling a Need:
The Lunch Box

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

48 | AUGUST 11 • 2022