In 2016, Karen serendipitously walked in on a conversation between Sarah (Founder of Healing Meals) and Kim (Founder of The Pasta Co and Beanz Cafe). The crux of the discussion was that Sarah was finally ready to make her dream a reality in starting a nonprofit called Healing Meals utilizing kitchen space in the Pasta Co. Immediately, she said to Sarah, “I want in on this exciting new adventure!” She loved the whole concept of bringing ‘food is medicine’ to life and helping people/families in a health crisis.

Having done a little bit of everything at Healing Meals since its inception, Sarah fondly refers to her as “The Kitchen Sink Lady.” She has served on the Board of Directors, has prepped, cooked, packaged, and delivered meals to clients, worked in the garden, and helped with fundraisers. In other words, she has done it all, then cleaned Healing Meals commercial kitchen sink! Of all the jobs that she has performed, her current role of Client Liaison is the most meaningful to her. The care and concern she expresses over the phone with every client is heartfelt. She truly enjoys reaching out every few weeks to all Healing Meals clients receiving meals to make sure all is going smoothly. For Karen, being the connection between each client and Healing Meals feels so satisfying, but she will quickly tell you that this role is just one more extension of the love and caring that the nonprofit is all about.

In addition to the investment of her time and positive energy, Karen and her husband feel so strongly about Healing Meals’ mission that they have chosen it as one of the top recipients of their charitable giving!