Meet the Team
At Frontier Food Group, our difference is our focus for product development driven by your needs. That’s why we custom create center of plate proteins, appetizers, and specialty items to your requirements. We want to help build your menu, enhance your supply chain and be an innovation partner for all your current and future goals.
Lauren K. Kenworthy
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Lauren K. Kenworthy is a serial entrepreneur of the foodservice industry for the past 20 years. Lauren is a market strategist that has brought innovation to the manufacturing business. Her innovation is focused on what consumers want and developing menu strategies that are driven by consumption patterns and menu trends. Since 2005, she has utilized this customer-first menu strategy in both development and founding of Frontier Food Group and CMI Foods, which has resulted in successful launching of countless new menu items nationwide.
Rick Garcia
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Rick Garcia has dedicated his life to the foodservice industry with over 40 years as an industry leader in management. His industry experience spans from sales, marketing, purchasing, operations, and logistics. After several executive roles at Quantum Foods and Tyson Foods, Rick tapped into his entrepreneurial spirit and co-founded CMI Foods. From there, Rick went on to co-found Frontier Food Group, a company that provides custom products and menu solutions.
William Christenson
VP of Research & Development, Quality Assurance
Bill Christenson is an experienced meat and food processing professional with over 40 years specializing in meat product formulation, cost optimization and process design. His unique prospective in both meat science and product development allow him to bring innovation to the meat industry in both product improvement and development. Bill is responsible for all research and development activities for Frontier Food Group and quality assurance.
Mona Garcia
Customer Service & Finance Manager
Mona is Customer Service and Finance Manager. Mona received a degree in Social Work from Texas State University and furthered her education in the Accounting field. Her goals are to provide her customers with attention to detail, resourcefulness, knowledge and a customer-first attitude.
Chris Garcia
Director of Sales
Chris is the Director of Sales at Frontier Food Group. He is from Decatur, Illinois and Graduated from Millikin University in 2015 with a degree in Business Management. Chris always has a positive attitude and loves networking. He has worked in Sales for 7 years now and is “Action Selling Certified". He believes the key to success in sales is listening to the customers needs and building relationships. He loves playing Golf, and tends to enjoy anything related to sports.
Ellen Reeder
Director of Sales
Ellen started her career in the packaging industry before moving into cheese and fluid dairy. With over 10 years of experience in the foodservice industry, Ellen joins Frontier Food Group as a Director of Sales. Ellen enjoys creating strong and successful partnerships with customers, prioritizing client satisfaction and on-time fulfillment. She currently lives in the Kansas City suburbs with her husband and two children.
Alexandra Telfer-McCloy
Sales Support Coordinator
With fifteen years of experience in the food service industry, Alex is a seasoned professional who has worked in various roles, gaining knowledge and insight along the way. She and her husband have become mainstays in their local community by owning and operating two successful restaurants in Northwest Arkansas. Alex is a creative, outside-the-box thinker who is always looking to bring fresh ideas to the table. Her passion for food and her eagerness to learn and grow has allowed her to become a leader in the food service industry.
Chase Foster
Sales Support Coordinator
I'm from Fayetteville, Arkansas and graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Kinesiology P-12 Teaching. I spent 11 years in the Manufacturing industry in Pricing and HR roles and then 1 year in Replenishment for a Walmart vendor. I'm a very detail oriented person who loves to work with numbers. In my free time, I enjoy watching sports and playing golf.