Donna Kelce Reveals The Sneaky Thing Jason & Travis Would Do With Their School Lunch

The NFL’s most famous mom, who gifted football fans with not just Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce but Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Travis Kelce, is breaking down what it took to keep those active boys of hers fed when they were growing up. And the answer is, it took a lot. A full fridge at all times, some homemade cinnamon buns, and two extra special ingredients called “a lot of meats and cheeses.”

Kelce’s role as mom to two NFL superstars has made her something of a household name herself. Not simply because her sons played against each other in Super Bowl LVII, and not even because her son Travis is currently dating the one and only Taylor Swift. But because she has been generous enough to give us a behind-the-scenes look at their family life, recently partnering with Ancestry to record and remember their family legacy. Looking at how her own DNA as a “risk-taker” might have contributed to her sons’ success, and finding out that being an athlete runs deep in their family.

All that athleticism leads to a whole lot of energy and, of course, a whole lot of food. Which is comforting for those of us who raised young football players ourselves and remember all too well how difficult it was to keep them fed during those early years. Kelce tells Romper that she didn’t cook a lot when Travis and Jason were younger because they were always “on the road.” But she admits that there was a time when she turned to the almighty casserole for a little help to keep them fed.

“When they were younger, I did do a lot [of casseroles]. There were a lot of rotini and whatever you could to make everything last longer. Just a lot of carbs with meat and cheeses,” Kelce says. “There was a lot in the refrigerator in high school.”

Kelce tended to focus on quantity as often as possible, simply out of necessity. “A lot of chicken cutlets, a lot of everything you could possibly do.” And when her sons went off to the University of Cincinnati, Kelce noticed a big difference in her bank account. “I felt like I had a raise when they finally left for college.”

Kelce has talked about her sons’ appetites before, once admitting that they could both polish off a whole chicken as a snack, and eventually she just decided to focus on what she liked to do more than cooking — baking. She still bakes cookies on game day for both her sons, and would focus on baking for the holidays when they were growing up.

“I bake a lot. I’m not really a cook. I’m more of a baker, so I love making muffins and cookies and just all kinds of things, cinnamon rolls. I just love doing that kind of stuff,” she shares. And her sons appreciated it. Sort of. But maybe not really.

It seems the Kelce boys were big fans of haggling and bartering with the food she sent to school with them. “They were big at just eating cereal. They would get a honeybun at school. I didn’t realize that’s what they were doing,” Kelce recalls. “They were selling their lunch that I would make for them, and they would get a honeybun and walk across the street and get Wendy’s.”

These days, Jason and Travis Kelce can buy their own Wendy’s without selling the lunches their mom made them. They’ll be spending the holidays on the football field, with their families in the stands, which some moms might find difficult. Not Donna Kelce. She’s looking on the bright side of everything. “We’ve spent more time [together] this year than we have in a long, long time,” she says. “It’s been a real joy. It really has.”

All brought to the Kelce family through the hearty sustenance of meats and cheeses.