Police Officer Paralyzed In The Line Of Duty Creates National Food Line To Be Carried By Walmart
Jim Mullen is living proof that a catastrophic, debilitating injury is not a barrier to a life well-lived. Jim Mullen was shot in the line of duty 25-years-ago and was left paralyzed from the neck down. But when life gave him lemons, Mullen surprised everyone by making applesauce.
Rendered a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic after being shot in the line of duty as a Chicago police officer in 1996, Mullen established Mullen Foods in 2007 and began pursuing his new passion – to recreate and market his mother’s beloved homemade applesauce. His only goal at that time was to get Mullen’s Applesauce on the shelf at Happy Foods in Edgebrook, Illinois, so that his mother could see it on the shelf while she was shopping.
Jim Mullen is available for interviews
Today, Mullen Foods (mullenfoods.com) has grown from a small boutique manufacturer into a mainstream premium product competing with national brands. The company has retail and foodservice distribution in over 500 locations throughout the Midwest and has been selected as a vendor by Walmart in their recent “Open Call”.
Walmart’s 8th annual Open Call for prospective suppliers took place virtually this past summer. The retail giant said merchant teams heard from more than 900 entrepreneurs who pitched their products made, grown, or assembled in the U.S. Jim Mullen pitched his applesauce to them and they chose Jim’s product as one of their products that will be on shelves soon.
As a former police officer, Mullen donates a portion of Mullen Foods’ profits to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, which ensures that the sacrifices he and other officers have made in service to Chicago are always remembered.
